Purple Manatees
by IchiakiI
Summary: Roxas is having another shitty day. His twin brother, Sora, is bent on making his day a living hell. After all the humiliation, Roxas thinks his day can't get any worse until Axel's science experiment goes awry, resulting in Roxas losing his eyesight.
1. prologue

As Roxas watched the glass fly straight at him, only one thing ran through his soon to be unconscious mind.

Purple manatees.

Now, why would Roxas be thinking about purple manatees instead of his own life? This is a question best saved for his twin brother, Sora. And why was there glass hurtling straight at Roxas' face? That question is for Axel to answer. And it all started at the very beginning of Roxas' crappy day.

* * *

"ROXAS! THERE'S A FIRE! HURRY AND GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" Roxas heard his brother, Sora, yell from outside of his room. He shot up from bed and ran towards the door in a haste, not even thinking twice about putting some pants to cover his boxers on. As Roxas reached the door and yanked it open, a bucket-full of water greeted his face to tell him 'Good morning!'

Roxas stood there for a minute to take in what just happened. His half awake mind was still buzzing about the fire but soon realized that it was obviously a joke when the water droplets started dripping down his back. Roxas' blue eyes looked at his hand that was now squeezing the gold out of the knob of his door. Then he turned his view to Sora—who was hysterically laughing, sprawled on the floor.

"What's going on you two—Sora. What the hell did you do to Roxas?" Another voice called out from behind Sora. The voice belonged to their not-so-happy father, Cloud Strife.

Sora attempted to reply to Cloud's question, but ended up clutching his stomach as tears started pouring down his face as another bout of laughter came on.

Roxas was going to get Sora back somehow. Someway. But first he had to get out of his wet clothes and dry off. He slowly turned around and walked back into his room, closing the door on Cloud, who was now shaking Sora and trying to get an explanation out of him.

After Roxas took a hot shower to get rid of his anger, he got dressed and gelled up his damp blonde hair. He headed downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Cloud was talking to Sora about what he was going to do today and was just about to answer when Roxas came walking in.

Sora grinned evilly and looked back at his dad, "I'm going to make Roxas' day a living hell!"

"UGH!" Roxas threw his arms to the air and fell to his knees, "Why me? Why do I have to have the brother who is the King of Pranks?"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere~," Sora sang tauntingly as he got out of his chair and flung his empty plastic plate into the sink.

Roxas sighed heavily and got off his knees, realizing that there was no way he could stop Sora's antics, he turned to his father and gave him 'the puppy-dog eyes.' Cloud had been frowning at Sora but realized his other son was looking at him. He then looked at Roxas, having their eyes caught for a moment before Cloud chuckled and shrugged his shoulders in a silent 'Sorry can't help you' look.

Roxas heaved a deep sigh again and went to get his breakfast. He ate in silence with his father until Sora came waltzing in with his backpack on and Roxas' in his other hand. Roxas eyed the bag that was now being offered to him, before regretfully accepting it. He slowly got up and also put his plate into the sink.

Sora walked out the door, waving goodbye to his father, an impish smile on his face. Roxas stared and silently wished that the door would hit his brother on his way out. But alas to no avail. Roxas walked out the door. But when he took a step outside, the door decided to close on his backpack. This caused him to stop short as he was bungeed back into the door.

Sora—hearing the loud thump of Roxas hitting the door—turned around and started laughing his ass off at Roxas' stuck backpack.

After a bit of wrestling with the bag, it finally came loose, thus of course, Roxas was also not prepared for. The sudden release of the backpack caused Roxas to fall on his own ass. Sora was now also on the ground from all of his laughing.

Roxas huffed and pulled himself off the ground, wiping his butt off as he walked past his dying brother. Sora then realized that Roxas was leaving and calmed his laughter enough to get up and run after his brother.

When the two finally got to school, Sora was pulled into his swirling mass of sport jockeys. Roxas heard Sora already start telling his best friend Riku about his stupendous prank.

Roxas walked past them, ignoring all the students around him until he got to, what he could call his group of 'friends'. They were all sitting around the picnic tables outside of the lunchroom. This was where they usually hung out together.

Namine, a sweet, silent blonde girl, was busy listening to her boyfriend Marluxia, who was, as Roxas believes to be, a gay in disguise. Seriously, what pink-haired guy is NOT gay? The answer would be Marluxia.

Roxas walked over to his friend Zexion, another silent person with sleek blue hair that dipped across one eye. Zexion had been scolding his boyfriend, Demyx, for forgetting his homework again. Demyx is a perky kid with a Mohawk…Mullet. Demyz looked up and saw Roxas walking towards them, ignoring Zexion, he ran towards Roxas and swept him up in a bear hug. Roxas learned that fighting against it was futile. Demyx was extremely strong. Roxas was soon let down to the ground thanks to Zexion and was then bombarded by questions.

"Hey Roxas! Why is your hair all wet? I thought you hate taking showers in the morning?" Demyx asked as he looked over Roxas and played with his hair trying to mimic it into the style he is known for.

Roxas swiped Demyx's hand away and shook his hair back into place and said, "I was woken up by a bucket of water. Courteous of Sora."

Of course, this brought about a giggling frenzy from Demyx. Zexion slightly lifted the corner of his mouth into what could be called a smirk. Namine noticed Demyx's laughter and walked over to see what the commotion was about.

Roxas sighed and ran his hand through his cold hair as he told the three of them about his shitty morning.

As Roxas started to tell his story, he was rudely interrupted.

"Yo, Demyx! Did you see Sora yet? He did the most hilarious thing this mor— Oh! H-Hi Roxas," A tall man with red hair, which splayed in all directions, said when he noticed the very person he was talking about was standing right in front of him. The red head looked at Roxas and started snickering, which pissed Roxas off some more.

"Tch," Roxas scoffed in irritation and started to head to his first class, ignoring Demyx's calls and Axel's now hysterical cackling.

Roxas had a history—if you would like to call it—with Axel. Two years ago, when Roxas and Sora first moved here, Axel was Sora's first friend. The two of them would team up on the clumsy blonde and play pranks on him. Riku joined in a little later. In short, Roxas pretty much hasn't forgiven Axel for everything he did to him.

Roxas went along with the rest of his day like normal. All of his classes were boring to him yet he excelled in them without even trying. So it was no surprise to him that today went by in a blur for him.

That is until lunch.

Roxas slowly walked to the lunchroom knowing this was one of two periods of the day he had with Sora. Roxas quickly walked to the lunch line and grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on. He quickly paid for it and walked outside to the picnic table.

As he walked towards the table, he saw Namine walk off with Marluxia chasing after her. Demyx had a guilty look on his face as Zexion, looking up from his book, glared daggers at him. Three people sat on the other side of the silent couple.

A smiling Sora, a smirking Riku, and a grinning Axel.

Code Name—The Retarded Threesome.

Roxas sighed and knew he should follow Marluxia's disappearing pink hair to find out if Namine was alright, but his feet just kept walking towards the table.

Roxas walked up to the table and sat in front of Sora.

"I thought you hated pizza?" Sora asked while eyeing the food on Roxas' plate. Roxas looked at his plate and saw that he had indeed gotten pizza for lunch.

"Damn it," Roxas cursed under his breath as he pushed the plate away from him and sent a death glare towards its crust.

"Can I have it?" Axel asked as started reaching over Riku to get to the tray of uneaten food.

"No," Roxas said bluntly while he got up to throw out his lunch. He smirked inwardly when he came back and saw that Axel was pouting.

Roxas sat in his seat again and set his backpack on the table. He was about to open it to do his homework when he was alerted to the sound of the people at his table erupting in laughter. Although the only ones laughing were 'The Retarded Threesome'. Zexion looked unhappy and Demyx had a worried look on his face. Roxas was about to ask what was going on when Demyx pointed towards his backpack.

When Roxas finally looked at his bag, he could do nothing but stare in horror. On the front pocket of his backpack was a giant glob of bright pink paint. Sora must have put it on at breakfast.

Roxas felt heat rise to his cheeks but kept his emotions inside himself. He was never one for emotions. He never cried, not even at his mom's funeral two years ago. He rarely smiled and when he laughed… he can't remember the last time he actually had a good hard laugh. He was Roxas—the clumsy quiet kid.

Roxas grabbed his bag in silence and walked off, again ignoring everyone's insistent calls. When he got to the bathroom he ran some cold water over it and started rubbing away at the paint.

"Hey Rox, you okay?" Demyx asked as he walked into the bathroom and up to his friend. When he reached out to help him with his backpack, Roxas turned away slightly and wouldn't let him help. Demyx was hurt but knew he was guilty.

"I'm sorry Rox, I tried to tell you earlier but by the time I saw it, you were walking away to class," Demyx explained.

Roxas turned back a little and eyed Demyx, who awkwardly splashed the water around in the sink. He let out a sigh and reluctantly let the man hold the bag while Roxas scrubbed the paint off. By the time the bell rang the paint was gone but the backpack was soaked. Roxas sighed in defeat but Demyx hit him on his back and said not to worry about it.

Demyx parted with Roxas saying at least his day couldn't get any worse. Roxas almost smiled at that but quickly pulled his face back. Demyx of course noticed and ruffled the blonde's hair bidding him goodbye and walking off to his own class.

Roxas also continued on his way to his last class of the day.

Science.

This was Roxas' least favorite class. Why? Because two-thirds of the 'The Retarded Threesome' were in it.

Roxas showed up to class and neither of the idiots were there yet. He spotted Namine waving at him with a soft smile directed at him. He walked over to her and their lab area, since today they would have to complete a class lab.

"Hey Roxas. Sorry I wasn't at lunch today. Mar and I had a little fight but we fixed it," Namine explained, "Hey what happened to your backpack?"

Roxas looked at his wet backpack and sighed, he was about to answer but was again interrupted.

"You actually got that stuff off!" Sora exclaimed as he walked over to his twin.

"What the hell was it made out of Sora? Him and Demyx were in the bathroom for at _least_ a half an hour," Axel hinted with an undertone as he walked up behind Sora, smirking.

"I don't know," Sora shrugged, "I got it from Home Depot. They said it was 'heavy duty' or something like that."

"Alright my little Minions of Darkness! Let us begin our fun! With Science!" A voice boomed out from the front of the classroom. Roxas turned and saw his teacher, Mr. Xemnas—or Mansex as Axel calls him.

"Today we are going to be working with highly poisonous chemicals, so make sure you wear your protective goggles, Darkness," Mr. Xemnas instructed with his arms above his head, "I want you all in groups of four! No less! No more! Yes Axel, do you have a question?"

Axel had raised his hand to ask, "Yes, Mansex! Are you aware that you just made a rhyme?" When Axel called Mr. Xemnas, Mansex, the whole class bursted out laughing. Even Namine was giggling at Axel's choice of words. Roxas did nothing except think about how stupid Axel was for even asking the question while insulting their teacher.

"Axel…," Xemnas started to say, but realized that the kid was used to getting detention, so he just sighed and ignored the red head.

After all the laughter died down, everyone got into their respective groups and got to work. Namine, Roxas, Sora, and Axel made up their group. Namine and Roxas did most of the work while Sora and Axel just talked about irrelevant things. This went on as usual except for the fact that they were using burners. This of course got Axel riled up and he started mixing things together to see which would be combustible.

Roxas ignored this and went on with his work alone. His burner was right across from Axels', and Namine's had hers farther away, but still next to them. As did Sora. They continued their work until Sora piped up.

"Purple manatees"

"What?" Roxas and Namine say.

"Look," Sora said as he moved the science textbook he had been leafing through over so everyone could see.

"It looks green," Roxas stated. Sora looked up at his brother and chuckled.

"That's because your goggles are green, chicken-wuss!" Sora said.

Roxas noticed this and took off his goggles to get a look at the picture. It was an ordinary picture of manatees but the ink must have run out because they were the color purple.

"Wh—" Roxas was about to ask why but was interrupted by Axel's frantic yell.

"Roxas, look out!" Axel said as he ducked in cover. Axel must have turned the heat too high and combined a certain amount of chemicals, or something like that, because the glass beaker had broken into thousands of pieces and all these pieces were heading straight towards Roxas' cerulean blue eyes.

As Roxas watched the glass fly straight at him, only one thing ran through his soon to be unconscious mind.

Purple manatees.

* * *

_So what do you all think? sound good?_

_oh yeah i will not be allowed to quit on this so updates will hopefully be going on every 2 weeks._

_trust me. Ani-monster will eat me if i don't feed her this story! _

_i kept the codename thing cause thats funny! Chiken wuss they called Roxas!_

_Thank you my beta fishes!  
_


	2. realization

When Roxas finally opened his eyes, all he saw was black. Over and over he tried to clear his vision, but he stayed surrounded by a room of dark black. Everywhere Roxas looked, the deep void of nothingness followed. He tried to figure out where he was. Tried to rationalize with himself. Tried to calm down and to listen for anything around him.

He heard the steady beeping of something that sounded like a heart monitor and muffled voices that resonated in his ears. Roxas wanted to reach out to them but why should he bother? If he was stuck in this vast world of black, then he wouldn't be tortured so much anymore.

Roxas contemplated on whether or not he should call out to the voices. That is until one started talking to him.

"Roxas? Oh my god! Guys, he's awake!" Sora's voice yelled out from the dark black world that lay around him. Roxas tried to peer into the dark to see his brother but saw nothing. Then he heard footsteps running further away. A door opened and Roxas jumped when someone's hand touched his shoulder tenderly.

"It's just me Roxas," Cloud said from the right of him. Roxas shifted his head towards Cloud's voice and tried to squint.

"Roxas, no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to see me," Cloud said. His grip on Roxas' shoulder tightened more. Roxas was about to complain about the pain when Cloud suddenly let go of his shoulder and hugged him. Cloud hasn't hugged him in years, not since the funeral. Why would he hug him now? He was just surrounded by darkness. Maybe something was covering his eyes?

Roxas slowly lifted his arm from Cloud's grasp and brought it up to his eyes to take what was on them off.

His hand felt nothing but his naked eyes.

There was nothing covering his eye. It was fine. He put his fingers to his eye and slowly opened it. Nothing was still nothing.

Everything came together and Roxas came to know what was wrong. His vision was gone.

Cloud's embrace tightened over Roxas when he felt him tense up, knowing that he had finally figured out what was going on.

Roxas slowly brought his arms up to hug Cloud back. He felt sad that he couldn't see. Though he did know something bad was going to happen with all of Sora's pranks. Although this wasn't related to the pranks, but still, he knew.

"Where am I?" Roxas asked as he pushed Cloud away softly while sitting up. A brief hug was all he needed for comfort. Not some pity fest.

"The hospital. It's late at night. Can you remember how…this happened?" Cloud asked tentatively as he took hold of Roxas' hand.

Roxas drew his head down towards his hand and frowned, "Yeah I remember. Damn purple manatees."

Cloud chuckled but stopped once he remembered he was talking to Roxas, "Sora told me about it."

"I'm blind, aren't I..?" Roxas dully stated rather than inquiring. He was always one to be blunt while getting right to the point. No beating around the bush.

"Yes. As of right now, you are. When the beaker exploded, shards of glass caused lacerations to the conjunctiva. Your stitches will be removed—"

"Stitches...?" Roxas interjected.

"Yes. You will have stitches in your right eye for another ten days. The pieces of glass in your left eye were miniscule, but went right into the conjunctiva, making you blind."

Roxas' shoulders noticeably lowered at this. Cloud noticed and gave a sad smile to him, even though he knew he couldn't see it.

"Although," Cloud started, "the doctor said that there is a possibility—be it very slim—that you could get your eyesight back."

Roxas' head turned towards Cloud's voice and questioned Cloud's statement of hope, "What do you mean? How?"

"Time," Cloud said as he let go of Roxas' hand and walked away. He stopped at what Roxas would assume to be the door and said, "only time will tell when your eyesight will come back."

Roxas heard the opening and closing of a door while footsteps echoed further and further away. Roxas sat quietly, trying to listen for anyone else. He heard nothing. Cloud had turned out the lights. Roxas laid back down in bed and closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep. Maybe this was all just a dream? Everything will be better in the morning. But Roxas knew deep down that this wasn't going to change overnight.

* * *

Roxas woke up to the sound of his door closing. He opened his eyes to see who it was but was greeted by the now familiar black void. He heard shuffling next to his bed. He sat up and turned his head towards the noise.

"Who's there?" Roxas asked. The voices that greeted him were to be expected yet they were… different.

"Hey Roxas."

"Sorry…did we wake you?" Axel asked followed by Sora apologizing.

"It's just me, your brother, Axel and Riku," Sora said hesitantly. He sounded nervous and Roxas heard him shuffle his feet. Axel's voice came from beside Sora and he made no sound other than that. Riku was practically invisible to Roxas. What a joy, the Retarded Threesome have come to visit! Oh, what fun we will have!

"Sora, I'm blind not an amnesiac," Roxas said as he leaned against his pillow, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. What's the point in keeping them open if you can't see anything? "Either way, it's not like a lost my memories or something".

Roxas had intended what he said to have been a somewhat dry joke, but the only one who found it funny was Riku—Roxas has now found to be farthest away by the lowness of his laughter—probably next to the door. Roxas heard Axel move a couple steps toward the bed while he felt a bend in the bed to his right.

"Yeah, but because of me, you're blind now," Axel said in a voice Roxas has never heard before. He sounded _sorry_. The Retarded Threesome has pranked him too many times to count. But none of them were ever _sorry_. This wasn't even a prank, it was just an accident. Hearing Axel sound sorry, it almost hurt as Roxas felt a twinge of something in his chest. Disappointment? Hurt? Roxas didn't know, but whatever it was, he didn't like it. He clenched his jaw and tried to swallow this feeling down.

"What are you talking about Axel?" Sora yelled, promptly startling Roxas out of his thinking state, making him jump back and hit his head on the wall behind his pillow.

"If I hadn't told Roxas to take off his stupid glasses, just so he can see some stupid manatees, then none of this would have ha-happened," Roxas heard Sora choke on his words and run out the door before he could say anything against it. The door slammed behind him, making Roxas cringe.

"Sora…" Roxas heard Riku say as he left to follow him. The room went silent. All Roxas could hear were the unsteady breaths of Axel beside him.

"What…just happened?" Roxas asked, thoroughly confused by the situation. He heard Axel sigh and imagined him pulling his hand through his hair fiery hair. A habit Roxas had noticed from their years together. It meant he was stressed, he did it a lot around finals and such.

"Sora thinks it's his entire fault…but he would be extremely wrong in thinking so," Axel answered, but failed to help clear up Roxas' confusion.

"But, then who—," Roxas started but was cut off when a large hand was placed on his head.

"How's your head? You hit it earlier when Sora freaked, right?" Axel asked, his hand slowly moving around through Roxas' hair. Why was Axel rubbing his hair? Was he his dog or something? Does he think that if he showed him affection that Roxas would forgive him for ripping out his sight? I mean it's not like Roxas blamed him for it. But still, how could he go so low as to try and suck up to him. Roxas was severely mistaken.

"Why the hell do you care?" Roxas asked as he slapped Axel's hand away, "Why are you acting like such an idiot? More so today than any other day before...!" Roxas realized as he said that that things were changing. He didn't like how sad and sorry everyone was. He just wanted it back to normal. Cloud had said that there was a possibility of it coming back. Then everything would be normal again.

"Stop being so weird and go back to normal," Roxas finished as he lay back in bed and turned away from Axel. Axel stood there for a minute, too stunned at Roxas' reaction. So the kid thought that he was acting different and he thought it was weird. Poor, dense Roxas. Axel chuckled at Roxas' last line and walked out the door leaving the blonde to lie in bed.

Roxas lay there thinking about what he just said. He just wanted everything to go back to normal. Another thing suddenly occurred to the blonde. Would he be allowed back in school? If so, then how long will it take to get used to being blind?

* * *

"Hey Axel, how was he after Sora's little freak-out?" Cloud asked when the tall red head walked into the hospital cafeteria.

"He just wants things to be the same as they were before," Axel answered as he sat at the table with the after-mention's father.

"Of course he does… Roxas has always hated change. Always. You know he still hasn't gotten used to this place yet?" Cloud said matter-of-factly. Axel's eyes widened and his mouth opened up. Cloud had told him lots of things about the twins over the years but this was not one of them. Cloud had taken a liking to Axel because he was able to be the most mature at times.

One time, when Sora had pushed Roxas onto the road tauntingly, Axel had thrown himself at the blonde and dragged him out of the way of a speeding car. This happened in front of the house and Cloud saw the whole thing and has praised the red-head for it ever since.

"Really? He seems like he has always lived here," Axel said in disbelief. Axel watched as Cloud's face went somber and turned his head away in thought.

"Axel. Have you ever once seen Roxas smile?" Cloud asked while resting his chin on his hand. Axel thought for a minute.

"Yeah! When we went to that carnival and he threw the ring on a bottle and won a stuffed animal, he had a nice smile on his face," Axel said but then thought about the smile a bit more. If he remembered correctly it was only a mere smirk—only the corners of his mouth—not a genuine smile. Axel laid his whole upper body on the table, his arms thrown around his head on the cold wood. He uttered a sigh of defeat and turned his head so he could see the older man out of the corners of his eye.

Cloud was still looking out the window but looked down at Axel's limp body, catching Axel's gaze.

"What did Roxas' smile look like?" Axel said after a bit. Cloud smiled and looked back out the window.

"You would have to see it for yourself," Cloud replied.

"Damn it," Axel huffed and stood up, gaining Cloud attention.

"Where are you going?" Cloud demanded in an authoritative voice. Axel gave Cloud a curious look before chuckling.

"Just to get some food. I won't leave. I know how much you hate hospitals. Besides, here come the midgets," Axel said as Riku and Sora walked up. Sora walked up to Axel and hit his arm.

"Just cause you're a freaking giant does not mean that the rest of us are midgets!" Sora huffed as he sat in the seat that Axel was in, Riku taking a seat beside him. Axel started laughing but stopped when his cell phone went off. He quickly answered it and nodded a couple of times before uttering a goodbye.

"Sorry Cloud! I got to go home! Reno wanted to know where I am and that he was at the burger joint. He said to come home now so I got to scat," Axel said as he rubbed his hand through his red hair before putting on a stern face and looking at the older man, "You'll be fine right?"

Cloud suddenly stood up and walked over to the red head. The two were at an equal height, both looking into the other's eyes. Cloud's arm flashed out and Axel was put in a head lock.

"Don't be getting all cocky kid! You still have a ways to go before you can look down on me," Cloud said with a smile as he ruffled Axel's hair. He let go of Axel who sprung away and immediately started tending to his ruined locks.

"Damn old man," Axel grumbled as he walked away.

Cloud laughed and sat back down with the other two thirds of the Retarded Threesome.

"Let's head over to the school, Sora. Riku you can come too," Cloud said as he got out of his chair, motioning for the two to follow him. Sora quickly stumbled behind while Riku followed.

"Why are we going to school?" Sora asked when they got in the car.

Cloud looked behind him as he backed out, then turned to his son.

"To see if we can get everything back to 'normal'," Cloud replied. As he drove off towards the school.

* * *

_Alright! who loves me! YOU DOOOOO!_

_okay so here is the story on this chapter! i finished this story a week and a half ago! so i sent it to beta to get it to me by saturday! well sat comes and she has to go to her dads and so she says she will send on sun! i say ok! but then we needed a babysitter! well who else better that kiri-tan(beta!) so we needed a babysitter so i can go on the plane to fly to my dad's house (where im at right now) and i felt that i hav let all of you who are reading this down so i tell her to send it anyway and now here i am on a wednesday night on my step-sister's laptop posting this chapter! _

_Thank you all for reading! chaptyer 3 will be posted next week! (its already finished just needs betaing!)_

_PLease review! even if you already hav do it again because you love me and want me to write even faster!_


	3. compromise

"So I can go to school…but on one condition?" Roxas asked as he walked across the room using his new walking cane. It's black and easily foldable from what the doctor had told to him. He was supposed to use it at all times, so it has to be within Roxas' reach.

"What's the condition?" Roxas asked once he walked a few more steps across the room.

"Axel has to be with you at all times, if Axel isn't available, then Sora or Riku will be there," Cloud responded. Cloud watched Roxas' reaction. His face contorted into a somewhat surprised expression but snuck back to that same blank look like always. Then his face seemed to change to anger for a split second.

"Why him?" Roxas asked after giving a once again blank look while he walked back to the other side of the room.

Roxas was practicing walking around objects that had been put up in his therapy room. He had been going to therapy for a couple days and was pretty used to the walking.

"Because, he is the one I trust the most and he is willing to do this. I already talked it out with his older brother, Reno, and he said it would be good for him," Cloud said as he moved aside so he wouldn't get whacked in the shin with Roxas' cane.

"But we only have one class together, and doesn't he have a job?" Roxas asked as he bumped into one of the cones, cursing under his breath as he moved around it.

"We already talked it out with the school. They switched around his schedule to match yours. His job said that he was due for a break. So they're giving him some time off," Cloud said as he deemed the safest place from Roxas would be to lean against the wall.

Roxas immediately zoned in on Cloud, stomping towards his father's voice. Cloud continued to stand there. Until Roxas made it over resulting in Cloud's shin to become bruised by his cane.

"Why the hell is he doing this? Doesn't he have anything better to do than to baby-sit me? Why does he have to in the first place? I'm fine on my own." Roxas said as he threw the cane across the room. His face shifted into frustration that soon receded after he realized what he had done. Stupid idiot Axel.

After letting Roxas calm down a bit, Cloud sat on the floor and pulled Roxas down in front of him—so the two were facing each other.

"Axel cares about you. You're one of his best friends, of course—" Cloud said before he was interrupted.

"_Best friends_?" Roxas asked in disbelief, "Since when has he considered me his best friend? He has always pranked me along with Sora and Riku. Since when was I anything more than just an object to be pranked?"

"Roxas…" Cloud started but was interrupted when the nurse came in and told him his hour was up.

Cloud got up off the floor and held out his hand for Roxas. Roxas held up his hand and Cloud tugged on it to pull him up. Cloud walked over to where his son had thrown his cane and picked it up. He said goodbye while hugging him. He then gave him his cane as he was being ushered out the door by the nurse.

Cloud remembered something and quickly turned around and yelled out, "School starts in two days! Be excited!"

The nurse scolded him and left Roxas standing there, smirking.

* * *

"Ow..! Damn it, Sora," Roxas cursed.

"Sorry, I didn't think your head would go so high!" Sora replied.

"Well maybe next time you should warn me when my head is going to hit the car roof," Roxas countered as he sat in the seat next to Riku and buckled his seatbelt. Sora crawled in next to him and closed the door.

"Is everyone ready?" Cloud asked as he started the car.

"Yeah," Sora answered, "as long as Roxas will stop being such a baby."

Roxas gave Sora a look of death.

"You know I would actually be afraid of you if you were actually looking at me," Sora sneered.

Roxas huffed and looked straight ahead muttering, "Bastard".

Sora looked out his window. He never wanted to say something like that but if Roxas wanted things to just go back to normal. Then he would have to.

_

* * *

Flashback_

"_Sora!" Riku yelled after his friend as he raced down the hallway trying to catch up to him. He rounded around a corner and saw the bathroom door close. He raced inside and looked thru the stalls. The last one was locked and he heard muffled sobs coming from inside._

"_Sora… you know it's not your fault," Riku reasoned, "Now come on. Unlock the door and let me in." Riku stood in front of the door for a while until he heard the soft click. _

_The door opened and Sora was sitting there crying. Riku walked in and wrapped his arms around his friend comfortingly. He stayed there holding the brown haired boy until his tears receded. _

_When Sora stopped crying, Riku pulled him out of the bathroom and to the waiting room. The two sat down next to each other. Sora dropped his head into his hands._

"_Sora… you know this isn't your fault," Riku started but realized he didn't have to say anything else. Sora stood up and held out his hand to his friend. Riku gave him his hand and Sora gave him a smile._

"_Yeah I know… I just. I got carried away. I don't know how he is so fine with being blind. When he made that joke I… I wasn't ready for that Riku! He can't see us anymore!" Sora practically yelled. It's a good thing Riku brought him to an empty room. _

"_Sora… maybe he doesn't want to be thought of as anyone different. He probably wants everything to stay the same as before. You're the one who told me that he was finally warming up to us," Riku said as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder. _

_Sora gave him a confused look. Riku waited a bit for his words to seep in as watched Sora's eyes widen in wonder. Sora's mouth moved into a big smile and he jumped on the silver haired boy. _

"_You're a genius, Riku!" Sora said as he squeezed the life out of his best friend._

"_Yeah, yeah," Riku said as he pushed the shorter one off of him, "we better bet back to your dad or else he is gonna beat us with his belt"._

_Sora laughed and followed Riku to the lunchroom._

_Flashback end _

* * *

"Sora, what the hell? Move so I can get out,"

Sora was brought back to Earth at the sound of his name being called. He turned and stared at the blind boy. He started to wonder what Roxas was talking about until Riku opened the car door.

Sora didn't know he had been leaning against the door until it opened and he fell out of the car. His back hit the pavement and he spluttered around for a bit.

"What happened?" Roxas asked as he moved his leg to get out of the car. Sora saw his brother move and immediately ignored the pain he was in and got up off the ground. He stood up and helped the blonde out of the car.

Roxas frowned in irritation as Sora helped him get down and broke away from his grip when both of his feet were firmly on the ground. Sora lightly touched his shoulder and steered him in the right direction using his hand as a guide. Sora lightly squeezed Roxas' shoulder when they got to the front door of their house.

Riku watched in amazement as Sora opened the door and lightly placed his hand on Roxas' back, alerting him to walk forward.

The two of them had taken therapy classes along with Axel. Roxas was fine when Sora helped him but when he worked with Axel, he tended to mess up more. He would place his hand on his shoulder instead of his back or he would squeeze too hard, sometimes causing Roxas to flinch. Roxas usually walked away, but not before hitting Axel with his cane.

Riku quickly hurried after the two and followed them into the living room. Roxas fell onto the couch and spread himself on it. Riku noticed that the blonde was missing an important item and looked at the other twin.

Sora was walking around the kitchen— which was connected to the living room—looking for something to eat. He pulled out some crackers and walked back into the living room. He was about to sit on the couch when he noticed Riku looking at him. He gave him a questioning look before Riku started talking.

"Hey Roxas, where's your cane?" Riku said as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, waiting for all hell to break loose. Riku watched as Roxas' eyes widened a bit but went back to being blatant.

"Sora, where's my weapon?" Roxas asked his brother.

Roxas hated it when people called his cane "a cane". He thought it made him sound old. He had a hissy fit about it at therapy one day when he was practicing with Axel. Axel came up with calling it "Roxas' blunt trauma weapon" since he was always hit with it.

Sora giggled and figured it was in the car so he got up and went to go get it. Sora found it in the trunk and came back inside the house to find Riku on the floor and Cloud standing over him with a satisfied look on his face. Roxas had an 'amused' look but it vanished when he heard Sora entering the room.

"Damn it all, Cloud," Riku said as he slowly got up from the ground. Cloud held out a hand for him and he took it. Riku gave him a questioning look but then smiled. "Does this mean yes?" Riku asked turning towards the older man. Cloud slapped him on the back and eyed the confused Sora standing in the doorway.

"Yes! And you know what the consequences will be if anything _bad_ happens!" Cloud said as he walked over to Sora.

"I gotta get to work. They said I could get the morning off but not the whole day. Make sure you help Roxas get ready for school tomorrow. Do you want me to drive you?" Cloud said as he went to get his work bag and walked towards the door to get his shoes on.

"Hmm," Sora thought and looked toward Roxas, "Hey Roxas, walk or drive?"

Roxas had been deep in thought, his eyes closed but when Sora's loud voice came in causing him to jump. His eyes remained locked at nothing as he thought about his decision. Cloud never used to offer to drive them unless he had a day off. Today was no exception. It was only going to be this one time. His decision was made as he replied back, "Drive".

He got up from the couch and walked towards his brother's voice. Sora walked to him and handed him his cane. Cloud chuckled at how much closer the two have gotten. He wondered how long it was going to last.

"Alright, I will pick you guys up in the morning," Cloud said as he walked out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Sora pounced. He let out a warrior cry and jumped on the unsuspecting blind blonde. When he landed, the two fell to the ground. Roxas cursed every word he knew and probably some he didn't and Sora laughed his little ass off somewhere above him. He pushed the other boy off of him and ran his arms around the floor, looking for his weapon or something damn close to it that could be used to potentially hurt Sora.

Riku laughed at the two, he walked over to the cane and picked it up, then helped Roxas up, leaving Sora to lay there and complain.

"Riku~~~! You stupid tall-ass traitor!" Sora yelled from the ground. Riku knew how to punish the whining boy. He turned to Roxas and gave him his cane and positioned him to aim for Sora. The second his hands left the blonde's… the dinosaurs died.

Roxas whacked Sora on the head and stormed off to his room, leaving the hysterical Riku and whining Sora.

He climbed his way up the stairs and flopped down on his bed. He slept for a couple hours before Sora came and jumped on him again, alerting him of dinner time. He ate dinner with Sora, Riku and Cloud. After dinner he and Sora said goodbye to Riku and Roxas headed back upstairs to bed.

As Roxas lay in bed waiting for sleep, he thought about what tomorrow will hold for him. Were things really going to be the same? Axel had promised they would. Axel has always kept his promises. He promised that when Roxas gets back, nothing will have changed except for the fact that he was now blind.

Roxas thought about how people will react tomorrow as he succumbed to sleep in the now usual black world.

* * *

_HEYYYY! yeah i know! Sundays are my supposed PM chapter day! but today is monday! haha oh well and its supposed to be everyother week but i decided yay christmas special! idk!_

_1- I DIDNT MEAN TO DO THIS BUT I AM A MAD GENIUS! i put '__Yeah I know… I just. I got carried away' bwahahah! that's from the Progressive CM wth FLO~! hahahahah DISCOUNT!_

___2- i put 'Sora was sitting there crying' and it was originally going to be 'Sora sat on the toilet crying.' but i thought it wouls ruin the moment! ahhaah yeah goodness!_

___i would like to thank beta and ani fro this chyapter and pretty much whole story! Yes this autors not has ALOT of spelling errors in it and i dont really care!  
_

___DISCLAIMEER!- noticed i dont have this... no i don't own KH or walmart or home depot or progressive! wat i do own if the name! PURPLE MANATEES FOR LIFE! PURNATEES FOR SHORT! hahaha_

___till next time! _

**___MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW~_**

___i check my email every hour so i know! and i love!  
_


	4. listening

"Damn it," Roxas cursed as some cereal fell back into the bowl while the rest stayed glued to his cheek.

He grabbed his now well used napkin and wiped off his whole face, making sure that he didn't miss a single spot. He put the napkin down and picked up his spoon. He dipped the spoon back into the bowl and brought it back up containing cereal once again. He slowly lifted it toward his mouth. When he felt the spoon hit one of his molars, he closed his mouth around the spoon.

Finally happy with himself, he quickly pulled out the spoon. But what minuscule happiness Roxas could've had lasted a mere moment. And, when he opened his mouth to take out the spoon—which still had food on it, this moment ceased to exist.

The food fell to Roxas' lap. Roxas let out every curse he knew as he attempted to clean off his pants.

Sora watched all of this occur in despair. He had offered to help the younger twin eat, but was turned down time and time again. Sora couldn't stand by and watch this anymore. He quickly stood up to take his plate to the sink. He turned towards Roxas and asked him if he wanted him to take his plate too.

Roxas paused in cleaning off his pants and looked towards his brother's voice.

"…Sure," He said as he continued cleaning his pants. Realizing this was utterly futile; he got up and went upstairs to change.

Cloud came in at a quarter to seven to pick the two up. Sora yelled up to Roxas when Cloud's car appeared in the driveway. Roxas made his way downstairs to his brother's voice. Sora gave him his cane and backpack and ushered him out to join their father in the car.

Sora lead him to the back door of the car and opened it up. Cloud greeted them and asked if they were ready. Sora replied with a yes and closed the door for Roxas. He walked around to the other side and got in the front seat. Cloud started the car up and began to drive.

As the car drove off, Roxas wondered how the day was going to be. How would people react? Would Axel keep his promise? Were things really going to go back to being normal?

Cloud and Sora were talking about the new aquarium adding a new addition to their inventory when they heard a voice resound from behind.

"Are we there yet?" Roxas asked. His curiosity getting the best of him.

"We just pulled up to the entrance the second you said that!" Sora said in amazement, "How did you know!"

Roxas shrugged and looked for the door handle. Cloud found it for him and opened the door, then helped him get out. When Roxas had all of his belongings, Cloud bid the twins farewell and drove off to his work.

Sora turned to Roxas and put his hand on his shoulder, lightly drawing him towards the school entrance. As they walked, Sora said, "You probably want to see your friends so we'll head over there."

Roxas thought for a second and replied, "Why are you staying with me? Isn't Axel going to be there?"

Sora shook his head but realized that Roxas couldn't see him so he replied, "No, he said he had to go into school early so he could get his schedule all finished."

"Oh," Roxas said as the two were then drawn into silence as they walked towards the picnic tables.

Roxas didn't know what was coming until he suddenly found himself on the ground with a heavy weight on top of him.

"Roxas! You're back!" Demyx's voice filled Roxas ears as he attempted to sit up and remove Demyx from his body.

"Demyx get off of him," Zexion's voice then entered Roxas' black void and the weight was suddenly gone.

Roxas felt a soft hand grip his own and lightly pull him up.

"I'm glad you're okay Roxas," Namine said from in front of him.

"Thanks," Roxas said as he realized he was missing his cane— weapon. He looked around and realized that that was a stupid move 'cause it's not like he could see it. Roxas suddenly felt something being pressed into his hand and he gripped it. It was his cane—weapon. The smell of flowers greeted Roxas' nose.

"Thanks, Marluxia," Roxas said as the smell of Lamb's ears became pungent.

"No problem," he replied and patted the blonde's back.

After everyone had greeted him, they all somehow drifted into a silence. Sora was next to Roxas, with his hand firmly placed on his shoulder. The silence was broken when Demyx finally choose to speak up.

"So… You really can't see us?" Demyx asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"…Yeah," Roxas replied solemnly. He looked downwards so no one could see the eye that had stitches. The doctor said the stitches were inside the area surrounding the eye, so they could not be seen, but Roxas still knew they were there.

"I'm sorry Roxas…" Namine said.

"No Namine, there is nothing to be sorry for, it was my own mistake," Roxas said. His voice wavering slightly, "It wasn't anyone's fault, but my own. We should get to class Sora."

Sora looked at Roxas' friends, a bewildered expression on his face. He didn't want Roxas to walk away like this, but he wanted to go. Sora swiftly laid his hand on Roxas' back and lead him away from the picnic tables to his first class.

Everyone was expecting that kind of reaction and were also previously warned. Axel had come in earlier that day and told them that Roxas wanted things to be normal and to treat him like nothing had happened. Demyx obviously broke that rule, followed by Namine. Everyone sighed and went back to hanging around till the bell rang, signaling the start of school.

"Sit," Sora said softly. Roxas slowly lowered himself onto the chair. He was still trying to get used to being blind and having to feel everything around him. Roxas turned and laid his head down on the desk. Sora then bid him goodbye and left to go to his class. Roxas soon drifted into a light sleep, which was easy to do since it was always 'night' for him.

He awoke when he felt someone's hand touch his shoulder. The hand was firm yet still soft. It held onto to his shoulder with a touch of protectiveness, never wanting to ensue any sort of harm. Roxas heard the voice of a man calling out from the darkness as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Axel's too perky to be perky at who knows what o'clock in the morning voice came from the dark. "Class is about to start, so I thought I should wake you so you could listen."

Roxas dipped his head in thanks and shrugged off Axel's still lingering hand. Roxas heard the teacher's voice fill the air as she ordered Axel to go to his seat. Class started and Roxas sat and listened to the teacher drone on about history until the bell rang.

Roxas started to get up but was interrupted when the same hand from before gripped around his shoulders and helped him up. Roxas sighed in defeat as Axel led him toward their next class.

The day continued on like this. Everywhere Roxas was, Axel was right there. When other students approached Roxas to find out if he was okay, they were usually scared off by Axel.

Axel had a sort of delinquent look that scared off most people. Just who would want to walk up to a six foot man with bright red hair and a scowl that could kill? But this usually didn't sway the teachers who greeted the new addition and went straight to Roxas to ask if he needed any help taking notes, or sharpening his pencil, etcetera.

Axel always interrupted them and answered saying that that was his job.

As Roxas and Axel headed for lunch, Roxas couldn't keep his mind off of Axel. He was starting to get on his nerves. Never once today did Roxas get a chance to speak or do anything for the life of him. This was worse than being babysat. He was treating him like he was a lifeless doll that needed to be carried everywhere he went. And, Roxas would bet that Axel would try to carry him if they weren't in school.

Axel led Roxas to the table and helped him sit down. When Roxas was all settled, Axel asked him what he would like to eat. Roxas refused to reply. Why would he talk now since Axel obviously knew everything about him?

Axel asked again from his right side and Roxas replied by turning his head to the left and crossing his arms.

"Axel," Zexion's voice filled the air, "Follow me. You too Sora."

Roxas heard the three stand up and leave. Axel's steps were a lot slower than the other two. They were also a lot easier to distinguish since he always wore thick, leather boots, and his steps were firm and to the point. Sora's were light and he would slide his feet more. Zexion's steps were also light but they knew where they were going.

"So it's just you, me, and Riku, eh?" Demyx's voice came from directly next to the blonde, startling him but regaining his composure immediately. Demyx watched this along with Riku. The two looked at each other and silently agreed.

"What's wrong, Rox?" Demyx asked as he placed a hand on his best friends shoulder. His hand was that of comfort. No pulling or directing where to go, just there. Roxas visibly relaxed at the pet name and knew he could tell Demyx anything.

"Axel is what's wrong. He doesn't know when to stop. He's taking control of my life," Roxas said as he threw his hands in the air, of course forgetting that he couldn't see anything and that he was clumsy, a now deadly combination as Roxas' arm hit Demyx square in the nose. The dirty blonde cried in pain and jumped up from his chair.

"Sorry…" Roxas said hurriedly but couldn't offer any affection, not that he would, since he didn't know where he was.

"Its fine," Demyx said as he rubbed his aching nose and sat back down. "Just, keep your hands down. Now, tell me, how is Axel taking over your life?"

"He won't let me talk or do anything," Roxas said in frustration. Demyx thought for a second and came to a conclusion.

"He just cares about you," Demyx said matter-of-factly. Roxas quickly whipped his head to face Demyx's voice, his mouth wide open in a silent disapproval.

"No way, do you remember how much he pranked me? Him and Sora were the ones that came up with the schemes," Roxas said.

"Maybe he was trying to get your attention, and now that he has it, he doesn't want to let it go," Demyx said as he thought about it.

"But, why would he care about me?" Roxas asked.

"… Do you know how he reacted after the accident?" Namine's voice came from behind Roxas as she answered his question with a question. Roxas shook his head and Namine continued as she sat down on the other side of him, "He was the one to get a towel for your eyes and held you till the ambulance came. Even then he wouldn't let you go anywhere without him there with you."

Roxas let all of this sink in as he sat there. Maybe… Axel was just caring for him like they said.

* * *

"You both need to give him space," Zexion said as he leaned against the wall of the school. Zexion had taken the two around the side of the building where they could be neither seen nor heard.

"What are you talking about?" Axel asked.

"Yeah! What do you mean? We're just helping him! He has all the space he can get," Sora said as he threw his arms out and stretched them out as far as he could to prove his point.

"When was the last time you let him talk, Axel?" Zexion asked as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the granite surface.

"Uh… History? I don't know. He's too shy to talk and doesn't want to share his feelings with anyone," Axel said as he pulled his hand through his hair. All this pressure was stressing him out.

"Axel. You know this accident was a fluke, but you have to get over it. Accidents happen, with reason or without. You both need to give Roxas some space. You need to let him talk. Use your patience and let him speak for himself or else all of his pent up emotions will let loose. Right now he is talking to Dem and getting it all off of his shoulders," Zexion said as he opened up his one visible eye and eyed the two boys.

Axel looked to Sora and caught his eye. It's true the two have been right where Roxas was for the past couple of days. They didn't trust him if they weren't there. Even right now both had the feeling to just rush to the blonde and see if he was okay and needed help with something.

Zexion sighed in defeat and pushed off from the wall, "I think what gets on his nerves the most is the fact that you won't let him talk. You both can continue to watch him but remember to give him a little space and let him do what he wants," Zexion concluded as he headed back toward the tables.

Axel and Sora both hung their heads low for a bit but then turned and chased after the blue haired genius.

When they got to the table, Roxas was smirking and Demyx was laughing his head off at some joke that Riku had just told. Zexion walked up the side of the table and sat down next to Roxas. When Demyx noticed his boyfriend, he let out some shrill sound close to a scream and an 'eep' but got over it when Zexion got out his book and began to read, ignoring Demyx's freak-out.

Axel and Sora slowly walked up to Roxas. Roxas sighed and turned his body to face the two.

"What do you want to eat Roxas?" The two blurted out in unison.

"I'm getting his food!" Sora yelled as he turned toward a thinking Axel.

"Roxas, do you want to get your food?" Axel asked ignoring Sora's surprised face. Sora's brotherly instincts had gotten the better of him. He cursed and walked over to Riku and sat down next to him.

Roxas looked up towards Axel's voice. He did care about him. He cared about what he wanted, "Sure," Roxas said as he got up.

"I'll go with you!" Sora stood up and yelled from across the table. Everyone stared at the two brothers. They all knew Sora was trying to hard. He had made the mistake and lost the battle.

"… No thanks, I'll go with Axel," Roxas stated as he stretched out a hand towards where he knew the redhead was. Axel shifted over a bit so Roxas' hand touched his arm and slowly led him toward the lunch line.

Now one thing was left to go through Roxas' mind. Why did Axel care about him so much?

* * *

OMG! i actually posted this one time! no need for applause just a review is good enough!

haha actually this story may be in need of supierior grammer improvements that my 2 betas haven't caught so i will leave that to my mom.

Yes my mother is reading this story! i thought that was hilarious! and then when she read the first sentence she was all "You need a comma here." Then i was all "Okay well how bout i send it to you and you could do that." then she said okay!

hahahhaah yup this chpater dosn't have the most words but it does have the most pages! it had 7... yeah none too impressive as twenty... TT^TT but yes

OH! for the next chapter you guys will probably hopefully get it the second sunday im hoping cause i have midterms these next two weeks! OiO kowaii aru!

PLEASE REVIEW SO THE PURNATEE MAY SURVIVE!


	5. Like

"Hey Rox, what are you doing up so early?" Cloud asked as he looked up to see the blonde walking into the kitchen. His eyes were half open and arms were hung tiredly to either side. Roxas felt around for the closest chair and sat in it. He sat back and crossed his arms.

"I'm not really sure. I was just…thinking," Roxas replied with an undertone of sadness.

"Thinking about what, exactly?" Cloud asked while he got up to refill his half empty coffee mug.

"…Mom," Roxas replied glumly.

Cloud looked at his son who could now only see a world of darkness. Ever since his wife's accident, Roxas has never spoken to Cloud about Tifa. When she died, Roxas was the one that was hit the hardest. He had been the only one there to witness it. Cloud couldn't remember a time since then that Roxas had actually smiled. Cloud walked over to him and placed a hand on his head to ruffle his hair around. Roxas swiped at his father's playful hand and Cloud stopped.

"Roxas… you know what I'm going to say, but why did this come up all of the sudden?" Cloud asked as he sat down in his chair with his newly filled mug.

"…What does it mean when someone cares about you?" Roxas asked after a moment.

Cloud thought and then answered, "Depends on the person. If you mean Sora and I, then we care about you because we love you; we are family."

"Not Sora or you, I mean…someone else. Someone else cares about me almost as much as both you and Sora combined," Roxas said.

"…Well maybe that person likes you?" Cloud questioned as he leaned back in his chair and blew off the steam from his coffee.

Roxas had never thought about that and felt his face heat up. Axel? Like him? What was there to like? He never smiled, nor showed any emotion. He was always clumsy and he always let 'The Retarded Threesome' torture him. Now that he thought about it… Axel came up with their schemes… but never 'performed' them. It was always Sora and Riku who tripped or painted or pushed him, never Axel. Axel would just laugh and be obnoxious.

Cloud watched Roxas thinking as if some new found information was now clear. He took a sip of his coffee, not entirely prepared for the intensity of the heat to scorch his tongue. He sputtered and spit it out, then went into a coughing rage after he breathed some of it in. The freak-out alerted Roxas and he jumped out of his daydreaming.

Roxas slowly rose and walked to the drawer where the towels were. He had memorized the house's layout on the first day. He already knew where everything was, he just needed to know without seeing it. He got out a towel and walked back to his dad and handed him the towel. Cloud thanked him and rubbed the coffee from his clothes.

"Shouldn't you be leaving soon?" Roxas asked. He always had a good sense of time. Since he was blind, Cloud had gotten him an alarm clock that read out the time when he pressed a button. Roxas knew that Cloud was supposed to leave in a couple minutes so he had come downstairs to talk.

Cloud looked up from his stained shirt and yelled at the clock, "When did the big hand get so far!" He promptly jumped up and ran out the front door slamming it behind him. Roxas winced at the loud bang, and all went quiet again.

Roxas heard the door slowly open and a whisper say, "Sorry! Tell Sora that I will be picking you up early from school for a doctor's appointment. Bye," The voice disappeared and was replaced with the door closing and Cloud's car turning on and driving off.

Roxas smirked at his father's forgetfulness. Now to get back to the problem at hand. What if Axel did like him? Roxas climbed up the stairs and turned the corner. What would he do? Roxas stopped outside his and Sora's closed bedroom door, frozen at his newest thought.

Did he like Axel?

Roxas chose to set this aside for now and give it thought later. He opened the door and turned on the light.

"Wake up," Roxas ordered as he walked over to Sora's bed.

"Mmmwake," Sora mumbled from what sounded like a mountain of blankets.

"Dad said I have a doctor's appointment today and that he is going to pick me up."

Sora sat up immediately, "A doctor's appointment? For what?"

Roxas shrugged and walked over to his bed. He got his weapon and backpack from where he had left them the previous night and walked out of the room knowing his brother would soon follow.

Sora threw off the covers and shivered. He quickly pulled out a random outfit from the pile of clothes scattered in his room, grabbed his backpack, and hurried after his twin.

When Sora caught up to Roxas he was walking down the stairs. He had to intersect Roxas before he made it downstairs. Sora quickly ran at the banister of the stairs and jumped. He landed on the sealed red wood and skillfully pushed off the wall.

Sora slid down the handrail with ease—quickly whooshing past Roxas with a gust of air in his wake. When he neared the end, he jumped off with expertise and landed with a perfect ten.

Of course, Roxas didn't see any of this, but he had seen it many times in the past to know what the sounds around him were. What went through Sora's head, was a complete mystery to Roxas though.

"What doctor's appointment?" Sora inquired. Roxas tried to walk around the annoying voice but was blocked by an arm.

"I don't know. Dad said he is going to pick me up early from school for it. That's all I know," Roxas said as he pushed Sora's arm out of the way and went to get breakfast.

"Oh," Sora said as he realized he had been left in the dust. He quickly ran after the blonde.

Roxas made his breakfast and sat at the table. Today was waffles so it was a little easier to eat without having to worry about any milk problems. Sora joined him to have the same breakfast. After eating half of their food the brothers were rudely interrupted.

The door slammed open and a gust of cold air greeted the two boys.

"Good Morning Mr. and Ms. Sunshine!" Axel's loud voice boomed throughout the room.

Sora was so surprised, that he was forced to spit out all of his food he stashed in his chubby cheeks. Roxas had heard Axel's footsteps approach the door and reacted by calmly eating his food.

"What the hell Axel!" Sora screeched as he lunged for the tall red head, who swiftly dodged the attack, causing Sora to land on someone else.

"Sora…"

Sora heard a voice underneath him that was not Axel and was greeted by Riku's teal-green eyes.

"Sorry!" Sora said as he quickly scrambled off of Riku and helped him up, all the while covering his blush.

"It's fine, let's just go," Riku said.

Everyone nodded and headed out the door. Riku and Sora walked out first. Roxas came out next, followed by Axel, who was making sure no dangers were present. Roxas was thinking how good this morning had been. He hadn't messed up once yet. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad? Roxas then walked out the door only to trip on the stoop.

As Roxas fell, he thought about how wrong he had been, but stopped short of a face-plant when two long arms snaked underneath his stomach. They slowly, yet skillfully, lifted him into a standing position. Roxas smelled Axel's shampoo and realized just where his arms were now being held.

"…_Well, maybe that person likes you?" _

Roxas jumped at Cloud's words in his head and struggled out of Axel's grasp, not wanting him to see his forming blush. He quickly ran over to his brother—who had only made it to the sidewalk—and quickly matched his steps with his twin and listened as Axel bounded up behind them. The two finished the walk to school in silence while listening to Riku and Sora talk about sports.

* * *

"Sora, he's going to be fine," Riku said once more in an exasperated tone.

"But what if they find something else has gone wrong with him? What if he will never get his eyesight back? What if—" Sora said as he paced around the picnic table.

"Sora. Everything is going to be fine," Riku said as he got up from the table and grabbed the boy's shoulders.

"But—" Sora started.

"No buts. After school today you are coming to the beach with me," Riku interrupted. Sora's eyes widened and he was about to rebuttal with something else that made sense when Riku interrupted again.

"Your dad already gave me the okay. He said it would be good for you to get your mind off of things." Riku said as he grabbed onto Sora's arm and sat him down while pointing at the food sitting in front of him, "Now eat."

* * *

"Riku! Over here!" Sora said as he sat down on their now well used beach towel. His hair was dripping and swim shorts soaked, both with sea water. Riku had gone to get ice cream and Sora worried that he would get lost. Riku walked up to him and gave him his sea salt ice cream. He sat down next to him and watched as the waves moved back and forth.

The two sat in silence and watched the sun as it started to dip behind the waves.

"Riku, why don't you like sea salt ice cream?" Sora said as he broke the silence. Riku looked over to see that his mouth was covered in the blue cream and the stick empty. Riku chuckled at the sight and looked back out toward the sea.

"I just never tried it. Putting salt on anything doesn't sound good. Especially with ice cream," Riku stated as he finished his strawberry ice cream and threw the stick towards a seeking gull, scaring it off.

"Hmm," Sora said as he thought for a moment, sucking on the empty stick. "What about carrot cake? Carrots are gross, but when you put it in cake, you can't even taste it!"

Riku hadn't thought of that before. He looked towards the blue eyed boy and smiled. The kid always had a good way of explaining things.

"Sora, you're the only one who doesn't like carrots," Riku said as he watched the brunette pout and attempt to make a comeback just to be interrupted again.

"Maybe… I will try it sometime," Riku said, his voice filled with mischief.

Sora smiled and was about to cheer in happiness, but he saw Riku move towards him and before he could say anything, his mouth was shut with a kiss.

Riku closed his eyes and kissed the younger boy; he held it there for a minute and backed off when he got no response. He saw Sora's eyes were wide with confusion. He slowly licked his lips and said, "You were right. Sea salt ice cream does taste good."

Sora stared, wide-eyed at his best friend. When he finally realized what had just happened he quickly stood up, grabbed his things, and walked away. He didn't stop walking until he got home and locked himself in his room.

* * *

Riku sat there for a moment. He knew that had been a mistake. Sora had way to much going on in his life right now for him to worry about love, but when Sora had said something so rational, his mouth covered in food, the water dripping down the length of his body, he just couldn't resist.

"_Cloud I need to talk to you," Riku said after he sent Sora out to get Roxas his cane—weapon. _

"_Hmm? What is it?" Cloud asked as he turned toward the silver haired boy._

"_I love Sora and I want to know if I can date him," Riku said. His back straightened and eyes dead set. _

_Cloud's eyes widened a bit but he had known this would happen sometime. The two had gotten very close in the past year. Riku had pretty much replaced all of Sora and Roxas' old friends with one. _

_Cloud swiftly brought his fist back and hit Riku's cheek, sending him flying to the floor. _

_"Damn it all, Cloud," Riku said as he slowly got up from the ground. Cloud held out a hand for him and he took it. Riku gave him a questioning look but then smiled. "Does this mean yes?" Riku asked turning towards the older man. Cloud slapped him on the back and eyed the confused Sora standing in the doorway._

_"Yes! And you know what the consequences will be if anything bad happens!"_

He was so screwed.

* * *

WOOOO! chapter 5! i literally wrote this on friday? no Saturday night! idk! but yeah midterms were crazy! i stayed at my beta's house the whole week! and then came home and was all 'hoshit! i have to write man!'

Yeah so me and my beta decided that we are gonna post every other _**WEDNESDAY**_! yeah... just saying! cause sundays are a no. we have other things to do!

haha Sora slid down the railing! i love it! i was gonna say that Sora had to intersect him before he made it to the ground and killed everyone but... nah!

Yup so Riku interrupts. ALOT! muahhaha but yes its more of a filler you know? cause i just felt like writing a risora part! muahhahaah

OMG! the beach scene... i wish to rape it! this beach scene is my freaking child! just... i love it man! I LOVE IT! like if i get a review on this i will like, try and write the next chappy faster!

_**PLEASE REVIEW FOR THE SAKE OF THE PURPLE MANATEES! THEY LIVE FOR US!**_


	6. promise

The next day, the boys ate their breakfast in silence. Axel came in and greeted them in the usual way. Riku hung back, waiting for the three to start their silent walk to school. When the four got to the school yard, they split up. Axel watched Sora walk into the school building and Riku walk towards the jocks. Axel turned to Roxas and was about to question the two's behavior when Roxas spoke up.

"Did Sora go inside without Riku?" he asked as he lifted his head up in what he hoped to be Axel's general direction.

"Yeah, what do you think is up with them? I've never seen Sora actually not talk," Axel said as he put his hand on Roxas' shoulder and led the way to their usual hangout. Roxas shrugged and concentrated on the firm hand that was now guiding him to his other friends.

"Hey Roxas!" Demyx's voice entered Roxas' hearing range. He quickly looked up to see him or at least look at him. "Rox, are you okay? Your face is really red."

Roxas quickly gasped but pulled his face into its usual blank look.

"Yeah Roxy, are you feeling okay?" Axel asked as he brought his hand up and felt Roxas' forehead.

Roxas felt Axel's cool hand touch his hot and embarrassed forehead and hit his hand away. He spluttered and turned around— crossing his arms. He slowly calmed himself and turned his head slightly toward the obnoxious man.

"I'm fine, and where did you get Roxy from?" Roxas inquired.

"I dunno. I thought it sounded cute," Axel said as he shrugged, not knowing the extent of his words. Roxas blushed a bit more and started walking away.

Roxas walked down a path to an area behind the school building. It used to be the 'hangout' place before Demyx had found the picnic tables and claimed them as theirs. Roxas knew the way there and used his weapon to help avoid any undergrowth that had grown since it had last been used.

Roxas found his way to his favorite tree. He had spent many times sitting there. He saw Demyx trying to get Zexion to like him and Marluxia trying to get Namine to agree to go on a date with him. Roxas sat against the tree and set his weapon to the side. He slowly brought his knees up to his chest and buried his head in them.

His emotions were way too out of control. He had to find someway to control them—keep them locked up—before someone found out what he was really like. Why couldn't he keep himself hidden? Did everyone see him blushing? Did he just admit he was blushing? Yes, he did. Why was he blushing? Because Axel had touched him. That hand… that voice… those footsteps, they all made Roxas' heart beat ten times faster than it normally should. Why? Roxas was starting to like Axel. He was starting to accept that Axel was becoming more to him than just Sora's friend who helped prank him on his days off.

Roxas was startled out of his thoughts when he heard a voice call out to him and footsteps coming closer.

"Roxas! Roxas I know you're here! Roxas, if you don't like the nickname than just tell me," Axel's voice shot through the air. Roxas considered getting up but figured Axel would find him soon enough.

Axel had watched Roxas hurry away and quickly chased after him. He ran to the old hangout and started looking around for the weapon-wielding boy. He called out to him and walked around a bit. He remembered that the boy had usually sat by the old oak tree watching everyone with blank eyes. He turned to the tree and, sure enough, the blonde boy was leaning against the tree with his head on his knees. He slowly walked to him, sat down next to him, and looked to the morning sky. The school bells—signaling the start of school—rang in the background but neither made a move to get up. They sat in silence until Roxas broke it.

"It's… not the nickname," Roxas mumbled. Axel looked down curiously at the boy and frowned.

"Well then, what's wrong?" Axel asked his voice containing a hint of sadness. Why would Axel be sad? What does he have to be sad about? Roxas lifted his head and stared into the black wasteland.

"…Why do you think Sora was so distant this morning?" Roxas asked, his cerulean blue eyes staring at nothing.

"I don't know, maybe… Riku said Sora was so ugly that he made an onion cry and it hurt Sora's feelings so now he thinks he's ugly?" Axel guessed, his voice laced with happiness.

Roxas quickly looked toward the red head's direction. He stared for a few seconds before chuckling. His chuckling soon turned into laughter and Roxas was smiling and holding his stomach. Axel could only stare in wonder. Roxas' laughter was the most wondrous thing he had ever heard. It sounded like bells ringing, the wind over a meadow, and a bird's sweet spring song. Axel couldn't help but join in on the laughter.

The two soon stopped when they ran out of breath and wiped the tears from their eyes. Roxas was still smiling as he looked up towards the dark world above.

"No. That was not the right answer."

"Oh. Well at least you had a good laugh!" Axel pointed out. Roxas' smile sweetened and he slowly nodded his head in agreement.

"The reason why the two are acting weird is because Ri—"

"Hello, Roxas."

A voice interrupted Roxas while he was speaking. Axel watched as Roxas' eyes grew ten times bigger and he immediately stood up, but being as clumsy as he was, he slipped and fell. Axel caught him of course, but something was wrong. The boy was clinging to his jacket, his fists already starting to turn white. His eyes were darting back and forth as if to see something, or someone, in his dark world.

"Who's out there?" Axel demanded. He slowly wrapped his arms around the scared boy's back and pulled him closer. What was Roxas so afraid of?

"Oh sorry. Did I interrupt your fun?" The voice said from another direction in the trees. Whoever was talking didn't want to be seen. Axel growled and was about to yell back but was interrupted.

"I just came to tell Roxas I said "hi". I also came to remind him about his little… promise… he made to me," The man said from the shadows of the blowing trees. Axel felt Roxas' fists squeeze harder and his eyes shut tight at the mention of a 'promise'.

"What promise?" Axel demanded. His eyes darting back and forth searching for the fear bringer.

"Just tell Cloud that "Sephiroth wants to see his lovely son again". If you could kindly pass on this message, I will leave you for today. Oh! And, Roxas, be a good boy, I will be back soon," and just as suddenly the voice had come, it left. Vanished.

Axel wanted to chase after whoever it was but felt Roxas' body start to drop. He quickly scooped up the now unconscious boy and hurried toward the school. He carried him bridal style as he skillfully opened the door and hurried to the nurse's office. When he got there, the nurse was working on some paperwork.

"Hello. State your sick—" She stopped mid-sentence when she looked up and saw the unconscious boy in the redhead's arms.

"What happened to him?" The nurse ordered more than asked. She pointed him toward one of the beds and had him lay Roxas down.

"What are your names? What happened to him? Why aren't you in class?" The nurse bombarded Axel with questions, but Axel ignored all of them as he pushed some of Roxas' hair out of the way of his face. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. What had caused the blind boy to shatter like this?

"Roxas Strife. His name is Roxas Strife. He's blind. He merely fainted outside during… gym. My name's Axel. I should be listed as his caretaker. If you don't mind, I have a phone call to Roxas' father to make." Axel said as he walked past the stunned nurse and into the hallway. He leaned against the wall and took out his phone. He dialed the number that he had gotten memorized and listened to the dial tone.

"Hello? This better be good Axel. I'm in an important meeting and—"

"Who's Sephiroth?" Axel interrupted Cloud and was then greeted by silence. He heard some shifting and an answer.

"Where did you hear that name?" Cloud demanded, his voice suddenly hard as rock.

"Some man just stalked me and Roxas. He scared the shit of out Roxas and now he is asleep in the infirmary. Who. The. Hell. Is. He." Axel said. His voice more demanding than Cloud's. Whoever this person was, he messed up Roxas real bad. He could even be the reason why Roxas is so distant.

"I'm on my way. Just wait a couple minutes and I will explain everything. I have to pick someone else up on the way," Cloud said.

"Should I tell Sora?" Axel asked as he pushed away from the wall and headed back into the nurse's office.

"Yeah. That would be a big help," Cloud said. He was now panting. He probably ran to the car.

"See you in a bit," Axel ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket. He looked toward the nurse to see that she was checking all of Roxas' vitals.

"How is he?" Axel asked as he walked over to her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"He's fine. He seems to be in a state of shock. His heart rate is normal and his breathing is even. He should be asleep for at least another hour or so. I had taken an extra precaution— because of his blindness—and called the hospital telling them of this injury.

"Good. I need to take a student out of class. He is Roxas' brother Sora Strife. Cloud—their father—is on his way to pick us up now." The nurse nodded and didn't even try to stop the boy as he left to get Sora.

Sora had Science third period today because of daily schedule changes. Axel couldn't believe he and Roxas had been outside for so long. He walked up to the door and didn't even bother to knock. Mr. Xemnas was in mid-sentence and stopped to look at the intruding red head.

"Yes, Axel. How can I help you see the darkness today?" Mr. Xemnas asked.

"I need Sora," Axel said. Mr. Xemnas frowned at the lack of his nickname and turned toward the brunette who was smiling eagerly. Mr. Xemnas eyed the two boys before waving them out of his classroom. He just hoped it didn't have to do with the other missing student—Roxas.

"Wow thanks, Axel! Gosh Mansex was sooo boring today! How did you get me out?" Sora asked, his smile had returned and he was bouncing around following the solemn man who was quickly walking back to the nurse's office. Sora seemed to notice Axel's lack of speech and fell into silence as he hurried after the taller red head.

Axel opened the door to the infirmary and let the brunette in first. Sora looked back at him questioningly before walking in and stopping in his tracks at the sight of his sleeping brother.

"Wh-what happened?" Sora asked incredulously. Axel walked past the frozen boy and sat beside his precious blonde. He slowly held onto Roxas' hand and let it sit there until Sora came to sit beside him. Sora wanted to ask the details but felt it would be the wrong time.

"You love him, don't you?" Sora asked, startling Axel. He quickly dropped Roxas' hand and watched it fall lifelessly to his side. He stared at his blonde and slowly nodded.

Axel had always loved Roxas. Ever since Sora had brought him over for their first sleepover and Roxas was found sitting on the steps outside glaring at Sora because he had locked him out of the house. Roxas had always had a hold of Axel's heart.

Sora smiled and thought about ways to find out how Riku felt about him.

"Where is he?" Cloud's voice entered the room and the blonde haired man soon entered Axel's vision. What caught Axel's eyes the most was the sight of a brown haired man following close behind wearing a police officer's uniform.

"Over there," The nurse said as she pointed in Axel and Sora's direction. Sora immediately got up and ran to his father. Their hug was brief but it said everything for the two.

"Explain. Now." Cloud demanded as he grabbed the front of Axel's shirt and pulled him closer.

"You. First." Axel said through clenched teeth.

"Alright, break it up you two. Let's get Roxas into the car and explain everything later," The police officer said as he pushed his way in between the two. Axel glared at him as Cloud walked over to Roxas. He was about to pick Roxas up when Axel pushed his way in front of him and carried the boy bridal style once more. Cloud looked at the red head—his eyes filled with surprise, anger, and happiness? The last disappeared when Cloud turned and lead the way to the car.

Cloud unlocked the car door and let Sora get in first. He then helped Axel lay Roxas down on the seat with his head in Axel's lap. Cloud and the police officer sat in front. Cloud drove off to the house— ignoring the seatbelt rule and the officer sitting next to him—and floored it. They got to the house in mere minutes. The police officer—who introduced himself Leonin the car—helped Axel get Roxas inside and in his bed.

When Axel got back downstairs, he was greeted by Sora, Cloud, and Leon all sitting at the kitchen table. Axel wandered over and sat in the open seat.

"Axel," Cloud started, "I think you should know about Roxas' past."

Axel watched as Leon pulled out a cigarette and started smoking it and Sora winced when Cloud said 'past'. This was going to be a bad story.

* * *

**Two years ago**

"But I don't feel good!" Sora whined to his mother as she tried to pull him out to the car.

"We are just going to the store and your brother is perfectly fine as well," She said as she tried to pull her son out the door.

"Just leave him here with me, Tifa," Cloud said as he continued to watch the TV. Tifa huffed and stuck her tongue out at the brunette, who reacted in the same matter.

"Mom~ Let's go! I want the new Kingdom Hearts book!" Roxas called to his mom from the front door, where he had been waiting for his mom to come.

"Oh yes dear! We will be back soon Cloud!" Tifa said as she and Roxas left the house. That was the last time Cloud had seen Tifa

A couple of hours later, there was a knock on the door—A Mr. Squall Leonhart of the police department. He said he had some bad news, but figured it would be best if he came to pick Cloud up and drive him to the hospital himself.

On the way there, Leon told him what he knew from the report.

Tifa Strife and Roxas Strife were both found in an abandoned warehouse. They had received a distress call from Roxas Strife saying that his mother was getting hurt and she was going to die if they didn't come. The line was interrupted before they could get the address. Police quickly retraced the signal and found where they were being held.

When the police arrived, Tifa Strife was already in critical condition. Roxas was found naked, hovering over his mother's body. He had covered her with a blanket and was mumbling about help was coming. Roxas Strife allowed paramedics to take him to the ambulance and get him to the hospital.

When Cloud arrived at the hospital, it was already too late. Tifa was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital in the ambulance. Roxas had watched.

At the hospital, Roxas was found to have been raped by a man. Police questioned him about what had happened but Roxas refused to answer all of the questions except for the name.

Sephiroth.

* * *

**Present time**

Cloud sighed and put out his head to his hands. He slowly ran them down his face and leaned his chin on them.

"Sephiroth used to be my boyfriend before I met Tifa," Cloud said.

"W-What?" Axel and Sora said in unison. Both their eyes were wide open.

"Yes. I'm bisexual," Cloud said as he pointed a thumb at Leon, "Why do you think he's here?"

Axel would have laughed but this was not a time for laughing.

"That's all I can really tell you because that's all I know. Whatever Sephiroth did to him, it messed him up. He used to simile, laugh, do anything. Now, from what you told me in the car, whatever this promise is, it's ruining him. He has been through enough in his life than to have another shitty thing happened to him!" Cloud said as his anger finally peaked and he slammed his fist in the table. Leon slowly got up and walked over to Cloud.

"You can stay in the guest room," Cloud said as Leon led him away from the table and to his own room.

What the hell happened to Roxas?

* * *

I'm sorry! i REALLY tried to get this in like last week but i just couldn't think of what was going to happen next! You don't know how many times i have rewritten this chapter! i finally decided on this! PS. this is now the longest chapter i have written!

yes Roxas got raped! i'm sorry! please don't hurt me! My friend ani already gave me 3 indian burns for it! TT^TT

I should probably be getting better at grammer and such since me and my beta are both taking creative writing... have i mentioned this yet? sorry if i did!

My beta wanted Leon to be zack... It would be the perfect choice! but zack just doesn't fit what i need leon to be! leon is the calm to my OOC cloud! (sorry about that)

I would like to thank At night we rise for commenting about the beach scene! im sorry i wasn't able to get this out sooner! i also have a research paper due next week! OIO very scary!

I would also like to thank all my friends at schoolio for supporting me and reading this fanfic! Chicken you too! haha thank you all so much!

**Reviews are like food to manatees, without them, they die. like a pineapple or something.**


	7. disoriented

Forgotten memories began to swirl in Roxas' head, becoming clearer and clearer like a photograph. Picture after picture, soon turning into a video. Events that had long since been forgotten, suddenly rushed back to him. After the whole video had played, to Roxas' horror, it repeated. Not just once, but over and over again. Never stopping. Again. Again. Moments of obscenities that should not be played before Roxas. He stood there and watched as it all passed before him. His mind getting closer and closer to the brink of eruption. Screams and laughter mixed into each other. Roxas felt his legs give out as he held his hands to his ears. He shut his eyes and for once wished he could go back to that familiar darkness. Finally, everything had built up. Picture upon picture stacked higher and higher, till Roxas let it all go.

He screamed.

As he screamed, he felt the images start to slowly fall away, relief started to set in once all became dark once more. But, the relief was short lived as he felt the pictures soar back through his mind. He slowly felt the tears slide down his face as he watched everything play, once again building up. Just when he was about to reach his peak once again, he felt it.

A hand laid itself on his shoulder, the warmth radiating off of it. The strength and comfort seeped through the strong grip. Roxas knew exactly who it was. All the memories were blocking the way towards this hand. A wall of photos met Roxas head on. The hand soon became accompanied by a voice. Roxas quickly stood up and ran through the photos, looking for one in particular. Just when he thought he was near the end, a giant picture rose from the ground beneath. Roxas stood panting as he watched the video for the hundredth time.

_

* * *

Roxas watched as his mother lay on the ground. He quickly ran to her only to be stopped when a man came into view. The man was standing over his mother with a gun pointed at her head. He slowly turned his head to face the young Roxas, and smiled. _

"_Roxas, my boy. Who might this lady be, hmm?" The man asked sarcastically. His voice sounded like fingers being ran down a chalkboard. _

"_M-My mother," Roxas answered, his arms and legs shaking. Roxas watched as the man tutted and turned back to his mother. Before Roxas could do anything, the gunshot rang through the air. Roxas watched with tears in his eyes as the man slowly brought the gun to face Roxas._

"_Not anymore. Roxas, I would like you to keep a promise for me, okay? And in return, I won't kill you," the man said as he walked over to Roxas and set his hand on the boy's waist. Roxas flinched away but was caught when he felt the gun's barrel press into his scalp. He could do nothing but nod his head in agreement._

"_Good. Now promise me you will love no one," the man said. Roxas' eyes went wide and he quickly shook his head back and forth, not able to find his voice._

"_Ah, ah, ah! You don't really have a choice. You see, you father hurt me a couple years ago and I merely wish to do the same. His son will have no one to love," at the end of his lines, the man let out a sinister hearty laugh. He quickly grabbed hold of Roxas' chin and made him look into his eyes. His other hand slowly snaking up the boy's shirt, "Now promise me."_

_Roxas could do nothing but close his eyes as tears continued to fall. He soon felt the man's hands all over him, touching him in places they shouldn't. Soon Roxas could feel nothing but pain. Once it was all over, Roxas was left to lay there on the ground. _

"_The name's Sephiroth, make sure everyone knows that," Sephiroth said as he left the warehouse. Roxas looked around and found his mother's purse lying a few feet away. He crawled over and retrieved the phone. He quickly dialed the preschool-taught number and told the lady who answered to hurry before his mother died. _

* * *

Roxas heard the voice over and over again. He had refused to obey this promise. Axel didn't love him, he loved Axel. But now that Axel was getting closer, of course he would make Sephiroth's promise come true. Although, Axel did protect him. He has done nothing but that. Why? Maybe, maybe since Axel is strong—way stronger than him— maybe he would be safe from Sephiroth's grasp? Could it be possible? Roxas didn't have time to think about all of this at the moment. The memory kept playing and playing. Each time from a different angle. The voice getting louder and louder. Once again, Roxas could see nothing but the giant picture and the hand on his shoulder. Roxas racked his head trying to think past the horrible memories to find out who the hand belonged to. Finally something clicked and another door was opened. Images of darkness came swirling through. Every single picture was black. Absolutely nothing but the dark color, yet there were hundreds upon hundreds. What sort of memories could these be? Finally, a lone picture came through the door. This one with color. As the picture started to float towards Roxas, he caught sight of the one color he missed the most.

Red.

The red hair of a person. The only person Roxas knew that could possibly protect him from Sephiroth.

Axel.

At the thought of the name. The giant video that had been playing, cracked. Roxas looked at it and realized that someone was saying his name. Just on the other side of the picture. Roxas took a step, and then broke out into a run. As he was about to reach the picture of Axel ,everything once again turned dark.

"Shhh. Roxas, it's okay. We're here," Cloud's voice came from the darkness. Roxas screams pierced the air. As he soon began to calm down, Cloud's voice came to him and eased his throat. He soon fell back to sleep as he felt Cloud rub his shoulder for comfort.

Leon, Axel, and Sora all stood watching Cloud lay Roxas back down to sleep. Axel sighed and looked to his beloved, whom was now sleeping peacefully once again, then to the door. He slowly walked outside and leaned against the hallway wall. He slowly lowered himself to the floor and laid his head on his knees, just as he had seen Roxas doing that very same day.

Axel looked up when he heard the door click closed. Three silhouettes came out quietly. Two continued down the hallway to get some more sleep—being the middle of the night—and the last figure sat himself next to the Axel. Sora looked at Axel and the two both sighed. They sat in wait for the next hour to arrive and the screams to ransack the house. Tonight would be a long night.

* * *

When the early morning sun finally began to shine, Roxas finally fell into a calm deep sleep. Axel sighed in relief as he listened to the blonde's steady breaths. Axel smiled and brought a chair next to the boy and sat in it. Cloud and Leon had left earlier for work. Sora and Axel had obviously decided to skip school and watch Roxas. Axel felt his eyes start to close as he soon succumbed to sleep—laying his head on his beloved's lap.

Sora watched as the two boys fell asleep and closed the door as quietly as possible. He slowly walked downstairs and saw they were out of milk. He grabbed his cell phone off the kitchen counter and walked to the red door. Sora stopped in his tracks when he saw a figure loitering in front of the crimson apparatus. Could it be Sephiroth? Was he here to take Roxas? All these things ran through Sora's mind as he slowly, and as silently as possible, approached up to the door and looked through the peephole.

He breathed a low sigh of relief and yanked the door open. Riku stood surprised with his hand poised for knocking as Sora jumped on the unsuspecting teen. Riku caught the brunette in his arms and steadied himself from the impact. Sora buried his head in the crook of Riku's neck and squeezed his arms around his waist. The two stood there hugging till Riku noticed the door was still wide open. He nudged Sora— who lifted his head and looked at the door as well. Sora grabbed Riku's hand and led him to the kitchen. The whole way there, Sora refused to look anywhere but the floor. Riku was about to question the behavior when Sora suddenly stopped and faced him. He slowly lifted his head till his and Riku's eyes met. Sora saw something in Riku's eyes that he had only just discovered inside himself moments ago. With everything that was going on, Sora had been avoiding Riku with expertise. But, when Sora was scared and Riku showed up at the door, Sora knew. It may be a little belated but he hoped it would accepted as he said the words that ran through his mind.

"I-I think I love you Riku."

Riku's eyes widened as the brunette angled his tentative lips to match the slightly higher ones. Sora planted the chaste kiss on Riku's lips. Riku could only stand in surprise and wonder what made the brunette come to this decision. Sora had seen the love in Riku's eyes and realized how much Riku truly cared about him.

Sora pulled away and searched Riku's green eyes for any signs of rejection. Riku slowly smiled, leaned down, and kissed the brunette once more.

"I love you too," he whispered against the slightly chapped lips.

"Uh… does this mean I get some cookies?"

The two boys turned to see the well known Cheshire grin belonging to an annoying red head.

"Cookies?" Sora asked as Riku mentally faceplamed, but kept his arms on the brunette's back and pulled him flush against him—how they got there, no one knew.

"Yeah. Since you two seem to be baking something up in here, I want cookies! Oh, and no added ingredients. Please stick to the recipe," Sora squeaked in embarrassment as his cheeks began to flush a bright pink. Axel swiftly dodged a spoon aimed for his face and left the two lovebirds alone to go check on Roxas.

He slowly climbed the stairs and felt something… odd. He got to the top of the stairs and felt something ominous pulling him towards the sleeping blonds' room. He looked and saw that Roxas' door was closed. Axel immediately broke into a run. He had been sure to keep the door propped open to hear the blond scream if he woke up. Axel threw open the door and searched the room in fear. He went straight for the bed and saw no sign of his precious golden haired boy anywhere. The window was left wide open with a ladder conveniently left leaning against the window. It was as if Sephiroth was teasing him. Axel clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes. He drew back his fist and smashed it into the wall. It went straight though. Axel brought his fist out and headed downstairs.

* * *

"He's gone."

Riku and Sora had decided to make breakfast while Axel was upstairs. Riku was in the middle of cracking an egg when Axel came thundering into the kitchen. Riku and Sora shared a look at Axel's disheveled appearance. His eyes were wide with worry and he was leaning against the entryway to the kitchen, panting.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked slowly.

"Roxas! He's gone! He took him right out from under us!" Axel said as he ran a visibly shaking hand through his hair. Sora's eyes went wide as he pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed a number. Riku watched in confusion as they all waited in silence for someone to answer the phone. When the dial tone ended Sora handed the phone to Axel knowing he was the one who knew the most about the situation.

"Sora, what do you need?" Cloud's voice came from the cellular device.

"He took Roxas! Dammit, I knew shouldn't have gone downstairs. How did he—" Axel frantically battered himself.

"Axel!" Cloud's voice yelled loud enough for the still confused Riku to hear across the room. "Chill. I just told Leon and he's on his way over to pick you guys up. I'm on my way now. Don't worry. We'll find him."

"I sure hope so. I don't think I could survive without him," Axel sighed, closed the phone, and handed it back to Sora. Sora grabbed Riku and headed upstairs to look at the crime scene while Axel decided the best place to be would be pacing in front of the door, awaiting Leon and Cloud's arrival.

* * *

I AM SOO SORRY! *bows head asking for forgiveness* please forgive me! You will love me cause i finished the next chapter! which might i add is THE LAST CHAPTER! but dont worry! i have 2 sequels planned! well wait... next chapter isnt last chapter now that i think about ARG! well 3 chapters left!

Now for my excuse as to why this chapter is a month late! First i fired my beta kiri-tan. Then I 'hired' 2 new betas! Then my one beta (you know her as the ani-monster) kinda stopped all production. So i just fired her and now i am left with my soulmate Daxern! I LOVE YOU DAXERN!

PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews bring SM town and JOHNNYS to America! nah just kidding!

**_The next chapter is DONE._**

**_The second I get 10 reviews, the chapter will be posted! ^0^  
_**


	8. reunion

When Roxas opened his eyes, he was greeted by the usual dark world but, something was different. Off in the distance he could see some sort of silhouette moving. Roxas blinked a few times, figuring he got a little lint to his eyes and proceeded to get up. Roxas was surprised to find his hands and legs refused to move. He tried to move his hands and felt the tough nylon rope rub against them, already starting to make them raw. He found his feet were tied together and were underneath him. Roxas looked around and remembered he was blind—as if he could forget—and decided to look above him. Roxas almost yelped in pain when the lights suddenly turned on. He quickly looked away and saw sun spots on the hard grey cement. He looked at the brown ropes that held his legs together and the blue jeans with a ripped hole exposing his scuffed and bloody knee.

He could see.

Roxas looked up and tried to scream but realized he lost his voice in fear.

"Good morning Roxas. I heard you had a rough night. I hope it was because of me," Sephiroth said as his long bleached white hair fell across his shoulder. He smiled a devilish grin, showing off his rotten, cavity filled teeth. Roxas looked away and pretended he couldn't see. He refused to answer the man that haunted his nightmares and made him fear for his life.

"Oh, Roxas, why won't you look at me? I know you can't see me but you can hear me!" Sephiroth said as he grabbed Roxas' chin and pulled him to look into his eyes.

Roxas was shaking now. He chose the roof of the warehouse, next to a bright chrome light, to be the best place to look. Warehouse? Roxas looked to the left and saw the exact place that he saw in his nightmares. This was the same place Sephiroth had taken him and his mother. Roxas started to shake ten times more as images ran through his head once again. Her pleading eyes telling him to run, her mouth hanging open upon the shot, the crimson blood that flew from the back of her head. Roxas felt tears prick the corners of his eyes, but fought to keep them unseen by the white haired man.

Sephiroth pushed Roxas to the ground and walked away. Roxas quickly turned his head and kept the man within his newfound eyesight. Sephiroth walked over to what looked like a door and bent down to his black bag. He pulled an item out of it that Roxas would never be able to forget. Sephiroth turned and gave Roxas a bright smile even though Roxas wasn't supposed to be able to see it. As he walked closer, Roxas tried to back away but was restricted by the ropes. Roxas heard Sephiroth get closer till he grabbed his shirt and made him kneel on the cold, hard ground.

"I know you broke the promise chicken wuss. You think I couldn't see it in your blind vulnerable eyes? I think you know what happens now," Sephiroth said as he brought the gun up to Roxas' temple and pushed it hard into his skull. Roxas had to stop him. Quickly thinking of something, he said the first question that came to his mind.

"Why?" Roxas blurted out as he watched the older man pause in surprise; only for a moment before going back to digging the cold barrel into Roxas' golden locks.

"Why, what?" He asked in slight irritation.

"W-why can't I fall in love with anyone? Why do you have to kill me? Why did you kill her!" Roxas yelled into the perpetrator's face. He watched, horrified, as the man slowly began to laugh out loud. After a minute, he stopped and answered.

"The answer is simple really. Your father broke my heart, he only deserves the same," he said with a smile. Roxas gave him a look of utter disgust before looking away from the mental man.

"…You're a monster," Roxas mumbled, too late to catch himself.

"What was that! You remember the fun time we had when you were younger, don't you? Perhaps we shall have more now," Sephiroth said as he lunged for the blond and ripped the buttons off his shirt. Roxas could only stare in horror and his shirt suddenly came off and the cold flew across his back. Sephiroth then went to his pants and laid his hand on Roxas' crotch. Roxas stared and shook in fear, his mouth open in shock as the man reached for the zipper.

"Freeze. Step away from the boy with your hands up," someone's voice rang throughout the warehouse. Roxas was about to sigh in relief but realized the man hadn't moved an inch. Quite the contrary, his smile increased.

"Do I only hear one little police man? They only sent one man to save poor Roxas?" Sephiroth taunted as he roughly rubbed Roxas' pants. Roxas gasped and watched as the policeman came closer.

"I said freeze. Back

* * *

away from the boy with your hands up," The man with brown hair and a blue officer suit said as he kept the gun pointed at the white haired man.

"Or else what? You'll shoot me? And what will happen if little Roxas here gets shot on accident?" Sephiroth said as he moved the blonde boy in between himself and the policeman. The man could only stare in horror as the convict had easily evaded his line of sight. The man cursed as he saw that Sephiroth was also holding a gun to the terrified boy's head. "You're Leon aren't you? You're the one that Cloud replaced me with, right?"

"What?" Leon said, caught off guard by the amount of information the man knew. "How do you know this? What does this have to do with Roxas?"

"Oh, it has everything to do with my son," Sephiroth said as his mouth turned into a devilish grin and he shifted his hold on the gun. Leon quickly ebbed closer and made sure to let the man know he was serious.

"He's not your son. Now, let him go Sephiroth," Leon said.

"Oh, I don't think I want to," the man said as he brought his mouth closer to Roxas' ear and breathed on it. The slight blow of air made Roxas shiver and he tried to wiggle his way out of his grip. By this point, Sephiroth was starting to get annoyed by all of the distractions. All he wanted to do was kill the boy and get it over with, but with this cop here, his plans were going down the drain.

**

* * *

**

"_Cloud get back here!" _

"_No! Just leave me alone! Please!"_

"_You very well know that I can't do that," Sephiroth said as he quickened his pace to catch up with the younger and faster blond. The boy suddenly spun around and looked into the younger Sephiroth's eyes._

"_I can't be with you anymore. I don't love you," Cloud's words cut like a knife but Sephiroth refused to believe them. Instead, he decided to retaliate. He grabbed Cloud's arm and pulled him closer._

"_It's all because of the girl isn't it? You lied to me! You said you were gay!" Sephiroth barked in Cloud's face. His blue eyes widened and began to fill with tears._

"_No! I never lied to you! I just- Sephiroth, you're too much for me. You're not the kind of man I want to spend the rest of my life with. You have to understand. I didn't mean to hurt you," Cloud said as he spoke in a soft tone and smiled at the man. The smile worked and Sephiroth loosened his hold on the man. Before Sephiroth knew what happened, Cloud broke off into a run. _

_Sephiroth stood there, his tears falling mercilessly to the ground. He had lost the love of his life. But not for long. He will get him back. Someway, somehow, he was going to revenge his sweet love and make sure the blond would never forget it. _

**

* * *

**

"Let the boy go or else I will shoot," Leon repeated as he moved to the left a bit to try and get a clearer shot.

"How bout I shoot you first?" Sephiroth said as he pointed the gun at Leon. The two were now in a stalemate. The seconds soon turned into minutes but neither of the two relinquished their gun. Roxas stared at Leon, wondering why he hadn't given up yet, when a flash of red caught his eye. He watched it disappear behind some boxes and felt hope flare through him. Roxas felt the tension thick in the air and knew something was about to happen.

In all but one second, countless things happened in the blink of an eye. Lucky for Roxas, his eyes were wide open. To the right of Sephiroth and him, a box tumbled to the ground and caught Sephiroth's attention. Leon lunged for the gun and a shot rang out. Roxas quickly joined the action when he felt Sephiroth's hold lessen and jumped towards the fallen box. He ran towards the box only to run past the man that was running towards the way he came. Roxas watched in horror as a figure grabbed him from behind and another tackled Sephiroth to the ground.

**xXx **

"So what the hell do you plan on doing?" Axel asked in agitation as he paced around the living room.

"First of all, I think you need to take a seat. Second, we need to make a plan," Cloud said as they all sat in the living room. Leon and Cloud stood while Sora, Riku, and a now less than pleased Axel, sat on the couch.

"So… what's the plan?" Sora asked as he held his newly found boyfriend's hand.

"We need a plan of attack. I alerted the other officers of the situation, but there is a fire up in the northern part of the city and most of the cars are up there. Sephiroth most likely took Roxas to the same warehouse where his mother was killed. He seems to want to toy with Roxas' emotions, so he would take him to the place that would cause him most pain. But…," Leon said. He paused for a second in thought and Cloud gave him a questioning look.

"But?" Axel asked. His teeth grinding against each other in anger and anticipation.

"But… Roxas can't see. This makes everything more… problematic. Roxas could very easily have meltdown. I will go in first—"

"No. I will not have you risking your life—" Cloud said as he interrupted his boyfriend.

"It's my job Cloud. I do this everyday. There's no need to worry. None of us are going to get hurt," Leon said as he put his arm around Cloud and brought him to his chest. Cloud snuggled his head in the blue fabric. The two stood like that till Axel cleared his throat.

"I'm glad all of you have found the love of your lives, but mine still needs to be saved from a murdering rapist!" Axel said as he stood up, fists still clenched and eyes filled with a blazing fire.

"Alright. I'll go in first. Cloud and Axel will sneak around the side and try to create a diversion while I tackle him. Sora and Riku—you two stay outside and wait for us. Let's go," Leon finished his speech and walked out to the car. Everyone quickly followed and they all hurried to the save the blind golden haired boy whom they all loved so much.

**

* * *

**

"Roxas! Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you need help?" Axel said as he hugged the blonde boy in his arms. After he had thrown the box down, he saw Roxas run away and quickly went and grabbed him.

"…I'm okay Axel. Where's Sephiroth?" Roxas asked as he turned back towards the evil man. Cloud had him pinned on the floor and Leon was next to him, cuffing the man's wrists and reading off his Miranda rights. Roxas realized everything was going to be okay and the weight of everything finally lifted. Roxas felt his legs go out and expected to fall but Axel's arms were being held tightly around his waist. Axel slowly let himself and the boy slide the ground. Roxas turned to Axel's chest and breathed in the scent that belonged to Axel.

"…I'm sorry," Roxas said into the soft fabric. He felt the man's fingers on his chin and forced him to look up. He gazed into the green eyes and saw them widen a bit.

"You have nothing to apologize for. It was the entirely that bastard's fault! But you're safe now. I promise, I will never let anything like this happen ever again," Axel said. He stared into what he thought were unseeing eyes.

"…Promises haven't really been working out in my favor recently," Roxas said with a slight smile as the green eyes widened a bit in realization. Roxas' mouth slowly rose to a full smile. One that Axel had been dying to see. Axel could only sit in shock as the lips suddenly got closer and lightly touched his own. The blue eyes were still wide and searched the green ones for a response. Axel closed his eyes and pulled the blonds' head closer for more control. Roxas let the man kiss him freely till the two ran out of breath and had to split for air. Slightly panting, the blond shoved his face back into the shirt and mumbled something.

"What was that Roxy?" Axel said as his hand moved to rub the blonds' back in comfort and love.

"… I-I think I like you Axel!" Roxas practically yelled into the shirt. He let out a slight yelp when he was squeezed and wiggled in the tight grasp. He heard Axel's hearty laugh against his ear and heard him whisper.

"I just so happen to be in love with you Roxas," Axel said. Roxas quickly lifted his head and banged the red-head's chin on accident. Axel only smiled as he watched the blue eyes search his. Wait, the blue eyes were searching his. What was wrong with that sentence? How had Roxas been able to kiss him so perfectly? Axel gripped Roxas' head and moved it from side to side. The eyes stayed locked with his own.

"You- you can see?" Axel asked in disbelief. Roxas' face filled with a slight pink blush and Roxas looked away and slowly nodded his head. Axel suddenly got up and picked up the blond. He pulled him into a hug and spun him around. "This is fantastic! When did you get it back?"

"This morning," Roxas said as he hit Axel's arm and made him put him down.

"This morning? As in… you saw… everything?" Axel asked slowly, careful of the consequences. Roxas smiled and looked up.

"Yeah."

"Are you two lovebirds just going to stand there or are we going to go home?" Sora asked from the entrance to the warehouse.

While the two had been talking, the warehouse had been searched and Sephiroth had been taken. Roxas smiled an evil grin—one Axel had never seen before. He watched as the blond slowly began to walk towards the brunette before suddenly breaking into a run. The brunette could only stare in absolute horror as the blond launched himself into his brother's arms, knocking them both to the ground.

It was now Sora's turn to be the pranked one. His face contorted into one of pain, confusion, and embarrassment. For the second time in a while, Roxas let himself laugh. Even as Sora pushed him off of him he still laughed. Sora and Axel could only join in on the laughter while Riku came over and helped the twins up.

The tears began to flow and before anyone knew what happened, the twins were hugging each other and crying tears of joy. Roxas had finally gotten his sight back and everything had finally ended. The weight of it all was gone and they could finally live together in happiness.

* * *

ITS DONE! the next chapter has to deal with like the next week sort of thing and i have no clue what you guys want for the chapter after that! So give me a few suggestions!

I notice i really don't have a disclaimer on this thing but i do NOT own any of these characters! NONE! except the purple manatees!

This chapter (supposed to be last chapter TT^TT) is dedicated to **DreamingDaxern** and **DarkAkatsukiNeko**! The best husband and uverfan!

If anyone noticed(i didnt till i read through it like 10 time) I use the words, Crimson(butterfly), Chrome(tiger) and Green(monkey) XP yeah i know... im an idiot! and a girl~ XD Sorry that this got a little angsty! i really love angst err pain but you know it is all fun again!

**thank you all for reviewing! that was the most in record PM history! 12!**

**If i get 20 reviews, then you guys will get the chapter before next Wednesday!**


	9. surprise

"Roxy!"

The loud thud sounded throughout the household as Axel landed onto the kitchen floor. Roxas had deftly avoided a hug from the large beast and managed to prevent his bowl of cereal from dropping at the same time.

"Aww, Roxy! Don't you want to give me a good morning kiss?" Axel said from the floor as he puckered his lips and made a smooching sound. Roxas looked at him with disgust as he walked to the sink and put his bowl in it. He turned around in time to see Sora race into the room—not knowing Axel was on the ground—and step on him. Axel made a noise somewhere between a cow and a chicken as the foot hit his solar plexus. Sora looked down at the dying red headed boy and bursted out laughing.

Roxas could only smile at their antics before Riku came from the entrance and swooped the laughing Sora into a kiss. Axel looked at the two longingly before turning back to his own boyfriend and giving him a pleading look. His pleading look was short lived when the red head suddenly busted out laughing. He quickly covered his mouth and turned to the kissing couple, breaking them apart. He and Sora whispered something, and then shared a very enthusiastic high-five before turning back to Roxas.

"Axel, what are you doing here so early? Don't you have to help Reno out with the shop?" Roxas asked as he crossed his arms in annoyance.

Reno, Axel's older brother, owned a mechanics garage down the road. Axel would usually meet the blond boy after he helped Reno set up and finished school.

"Nope, Reno's not feeling well so he closed the shop for the day and told me to go have wild sex with my boyfriend."

After dodging a punch from his boyfriend, Axel announced what time it was and the foursome began their trek to the jail for children.

Today was the first day Roxas would go back to school after his ordeal. It had been a week since the kidnapping and Roxas was being held prisoner in his own home. Cloud and Leon refused to let Roxas out of their sight till Sephiroth was found guilty and put under lock down, countries away. Last night, Leon found out the results of the trial and found that Sephiroth was going to be put away for a very long time. The two finally agreed to let Roxas go back to school.

"Roxy?" Axel asked as he waved his hand in front of the boy's eyes. The blond jumped a bit before looking up at his boyfriend.

"Yeah?"

"Um, I… uh… I kinda forgot to uh… tell everyone that your sight is back," Axel said as he scratched his head in embarrassment. When he finished the confession he flinched in preparation for a hit. What he didn't expect, was Roxas' melodic laughter to reach his ears. Axel saw the boy's smiling face and couldn't resist. He leaned down and pecked the boy's lifted cheek, causing him to blush profusely and stop laughing.

"Aww Roxy. Why'd you stop?"

"…Did you tell them… about us?"

Axel stopped walking. He looked at the ground, deep in thought. He reeled through his memories and came across none. His head lifted up and his eyes grew wide. He slowly smiled and replied, "Nope!"

Roxas' mouth nearly dropped as he felt a pang in his heart. Why hadn't Axel told them about their relationship? Maybe he wanted to keep it a secret?

"Roxy?"

Maybe Axel was embarrassed to have him as his boyfriend?

"Roxas!" He stopped at the sound of his real name coming from the taller man's lips. He stared at the man in front of him, who had somehow stopped him from walking away any further.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want them to know about us until you were ready."

Roxas looked up at his thoughtful boyfriend and smiled once more before reaching up and placing a kiss on his lips. The two walked the rest of the way next to each other, relishing every shoulder touch. They soon made it to the picnic tables and Roxas smiled at the scene and started to feel his hands begin to shake. Axel wrapped his arm around the suddenly nervous blond and pulled him nearer as they got closer to the group.

"But Zexy! Marly called us 'Zemyx'! That is the most amazing thing I've ever heard!"

Demyx was jumping up and down and waving his arms in the air. Zexion was ignoring the two by reading his book. Marluxia was laughing into Namine's shoulder as she smiled lightly. The whole group looked up when a certain redhead cleared his throat.

"So, do we get a fancy name too?" Axel asked as he pulled Roxas closer. Who in turn, aimed a punch for the gut and watched, satisfied, as the boy fell to the ground.

"No," Roxas said as he crossed his arms.

"You know, I kinda miss your weapon! Your fists are a lot harder," Axel clutched his stomach and stood back up. The whole group gasped when they saw Roxas turn to face them.

"That's what he said," Demyx whispered before promptly getting slapped in the back of the head with a heavy book.

"Axel, I know Roxas wants everything back to normal, but this is going too far!" Namine said as she walked up to Roxas and grabbed his arm. Roxas pulled his arm out of the angered blonde's grasp and looked at Axel.

"What does she mean?" Roxas' angry blue eyes glared daggers at the redhead's unswayed green ones. One person of the group of friends noticed this and put his book down.

"Dem, give me your mirror."

Zexion held out his hand. Demyx gave him a confused look before complying. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small compact mirror. Don't judge him, it's for his hair.

Zexion took the mirror and walked over to the glaring blond boy. The group watched the slate haired boy in absolute confusion as Zexion held the mirror in front of Roxas' face. Roxas' eyes widened as he grabbed the mirror and gawked at his reflection.

"You drew a mustache on me!" Roxas yelled as he threw the mirror at Axel—who had currently fallen to the ground laughing.

"Roxas? How do you know that?" Namine asked, pushing past Zexion, who was also waiting for an answer.

"Oh, Axel is an idiot and kinda forgot to tell you guys," Roxas stated as he licked his thumb and wiped off his brown cowboy 'stache. He tentatively tasted the brown substance before exclaiming, "So that's where my chocolate syrup went."

"Let me try!" Axel quickly climbed off the ground, grabbed Roxas' head, and licked the mustache clean of his lip. "It's Hershey's chocolate, alright!"

Roxas pushed the redhead off and hid his blush behind his arm as he wiped off the remnants of Axel's spit and chocolate.

"You are so embarrassing."

"Um, could someone explain to me what the hell is going on? How did Roxas know he had something on his face? And, why did Axel just lick Roxas?" Demyx asked.

"Well I—" Roxas started but was cut off when Axel slammed his lips against his own. After a minute or so, Roxas pushed him off and looked at everyone. They all had their mouth hanging open except Zexion— he merely mumbled a 'congratulations' and went back to reading.

"Um, where do I start? Oh, I know! So Roxy got his eyesight back, almost got killed by his dad's psycho ex-boy toy, and now me and Roxy here are a couple," Axel said all in one breath as he leaned his arm on the boy's head.

Roxas mentally clapped before being suddenly pushed into Namine's arms. Tears were streaming down her face and a smile was present on her lips. Soon, the whole group joined in on the hug and they shared the moment. After a while, Roxas somehow found his way out of the tight circle and broke from their grasps.

"Yes, its all fine and dandy, now can we get to class?" he asked.

"Oh Roxas," Axel said as he swung his arm around the boy's shoulders. "You're such a workaholic. It's a good thing I love you for it!"

"I am not." Axel watched the boy intently when he saw the blush present itself on the boy's face.

"Oh I love you Roxy Bear!" Axel pounced on the boy and covered him with kisses as Roxas yelled against it and struggled for freedom. When the bell chimed for class, Axel finally let the boy go and the two sat on the ground. Everyone had left a while ago after the two boys' started 'playing'.

"Come on." Axel got off the ground and dusted off his pants. He held out a hand to the boy and a smile lit both their faces. Roxas took the hand and didn't let it go till he got to his class. Axel bent down, kissed the side of his cheek, and wished him good luck as he ran off to his classroom. Roxas held a hand over the area and quickly opened the door.

He rushed to his seat and the rest of school passed in a glance. Most people came up to him and asked where Axel was and if he needed help. He would always look them directly in the eyes and say that he was no longer blind, and then continue on with his work.

Lunch finally arrived and Roxas made his way to the lunch line. He once again grabbed the first food he could find and bought it. He ran to the seats and his hopes dropped when his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. Sora and Riku were sitting next to each other talking when Roxas approached the table and set his food down on it. Two-thirds of the Retarded Threesome looked up and disappointment was displayed on their facial features.

"How did you find it?" Sora pouted.

"Zexion and Namine pointed it out. They thought you were extremely cruel for doing that to a blind person." The two snickered, and then stopped. Riku leaned forward; his face was one of surprise.

"No one told them? I could've sworn Axel would've— Axel. Now it makes sense. You can't assign him to do anything right, except come up with some good pranks."

"Hey! That's my b-boyfriend you're talking about." The two looked at the blond boy who had just stuck up for his other half for the first time and giggled. They were about to jeer another comment but were interrupted when Roxas felt a hand lay itself on his head.

"Damn straight!" Axel snickered and sat next to the now blushing blond.

"Roxas, you do know that you got pizza again, right?" Sora pointed at the plate.

Roxas' eyes widened and he looked down at the ugly mess of gross looking food on his plate. He pushed it to his boyfriend, knowing he loved the disgusting stuff. Axel pulled out a few dollars from his back pocket and handed it to his other half.

"Here. Buy yourself a sandwich." Roxas' eyes were now permanently widened as he took the money from his caring red head and watched him take a huge bite of his food. If he were to act soon, he had better do it now. Roxas puckered his lips and went in for the kill. He kissed one of the stuffed cheeks and quickly scurried away to buy his own food, leaving Axel to choke on whatever was in his mouth and Riku and Sora to laugh their asses off.

Roxas smiled at the Retarded Threesome and headed off to the lunch line. This time he made sure to grab the correct item and buy it. Namine came up behind him and blew in his ear, causing him to jump and drop his sandwich. Before it hit the ground, Marluxia's hockey stick hit it back up and into his hands.

"Thanks," Roxas said as he looked down at the ground.

"No problem," Marluxia replied as he motioned for the giggling Namine to follow him. Roxas followed the two back to the now crowded picnic tables. Everyone was there and everyone was talking. Roxas saw that there was one empty seat left for him. Right next to Axel and Demyx. He sat down and handed Axel the change, muttering another thanks. Axel bent down and kissed his head, whispering a 'no problem'. The bells once again rang through the whole school and the group groaned in annoyance. Roxas, Axel, Namine, and Sora, all made their way to their infamous science class. The place where it all started.

"Today, we are doing another science experiment! This time, please remember NOT to take off your safety goggles, darkness!" Xemnas said as he waved his arms around like a mad man.

The whole class giggled and Roxas felt his face heat up. This time, he and Axel were paired together so Roxas was now able to prevent any mixing of the wrong chemicals.

"Hey, Roxas! Look at this!" Sora's voice called to the blond. Roxas looked away from the experiment to see the dreaded picture of purple manatees. Roxas chose the glasses that were clear colored so he wouldn't get any chemicals mixed up. The picture was just as clear as it had been before and Roxas let out a laugh that startled the whole group. Soon, they were all laughing at the messed up picture and a call from Axel interrupted them.

"Um, Roxy? Is it supposed to bubble like this?" Roxas turned around and saw that the beaker was indeed bubbling and he knew exactly what the red head had done.

"Axel, I told you not to play with the flame!"

"But, the reds and oranges mix so well when chemicals are involved! You can't buy this stuff at any regular store you know? And—"

"No, Axel! Turn the heat down, now."

Axel reluctantly turned the heat down and another complication was averted. Axel smiled sheepishly and Roxas gave him a reassuring one back. The class continued on without a problem and the final bell soon rang. Axel and Roxas hurried out to the picnic tables and waited. Riku and Sora soon showed up and they all headed home. As they were turning down their street, they heard sirens go off and an ambulance fly past them. Axel held Roxas steady as he watched the car turn down his road.

Roxas watched as his boyfriend flipped out his phone and dialed his brother's number. Roxas knew that the ambulance had turned down the road to Axel's house and that his brother had taken the day off of work today. When no one picked up the phone, Axel slammed it shut and ran a hand threw his hair. His eyes closed in hesitation, but opened them when he felt a hand on his back. He turned around and looked into Roxas' bright blue eyes.

"Go see if he's all right. I have my cell phone if you need me," Roxas encouraged him as he gave the red head another push.

Axel quickly leaned down and kissed his boyfriend's lips. He sucked in a bit and relished the taste of the boy.

"I'll see you soon," he whispered.

Roxas watched as his boyfriend quickly ran after the ambulance. A call from his brother brought him out of his trance. He saw the two lingering a couple feet ahead. Roxas ran up to them and the three headed home.

Once home, Roxas sat on the couch. Sora turned on the TV and was seated on Riku's lap. Roxas sat cross-legged with his phone held in front of him, awaiting any new messages. When his phone finally vibrated, he jumped and dropped it on the ground. He scrambled to pick it up and quickly opened it.

"Hello?" Roxas asked. He looked down at his position and realized that he was half on the ground and half on the couch. His brother was laughing at the position and Riku smiled.

"Roxy? Hey I need you to come down to the hospital. It turns out that the ambulance was for my brother. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. I wanted to make sure that everything was going to be okay before I called you."

Roxas knew that that was Axel speak for 'I didn't want you to hear me freak out over the phone'.

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit," Roxas replied and was about to hang up the phone when he heard a soft 'hurry' come from the speaker. He felt his heart twinge and knew that Axel truly loved him and needed him. If he was to be there for the one he loved, he needed to show him that now.

Roxas quickly scrambled up from his place on the ground and ran to the door. He stopped mid-run when he realized that the hospital was miles away and he couldn't just run there. He fumbled with his pants pocket to try and find his cell phone when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He instantly calmed— remembering back at the time when he was blind and the hand was the only way he could see.

"I phoned Leon. He will be here in a bit," Sora's voice said.

Roxas turned to face his twin brother and Sora's eyes were filled with reassurance. He held a small smile and hugged his brother. The two had gotten closer with the whole 'blind' experience and knew they couldn't live without one another. Roxas' pain for his boyfriend was felt strongly within Sora and the two knew they were connected.

A knock on the door brought the two out a hug and Roxas quickly ran to open it. A man with black hair, spiked up like his own, met him. He held a smile and his police uniform shined in the setting sun's light.

"Roxas Strife?" the man stated more than asked.

"Yes?" Roxas answered, questioningly.

"The name's Zack Fair. I'm a friend of your fathers'. He said he had some business to attend to, so he sent me to take you somewhere!" the man said excitedly. At the mention of Leon being named as father, Roxas let a small smile slip out. Leon had become somewhat of a father to him recently. If Roxas was in any sort of trouble, Leon would always be there to help.

"I need to go to the hospital," Roxas said as he walked past the man and out to the patrol car. The man soon caught up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. His eyes were filled with worry and he began to check Roxas for any sign of injury.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Why do you need to go to the hospital? Oh, if your father knew that this was the reason he needed to come he wouldn't have sent me!" the man rambled. Roxas shrugged and sat in the passenger seat. Zack ran around and sat in the driver's seat.

Zack tried to ask what was wrong a couple more times but realized that Roxas wasn't going to be answering anymore of his question. Roxas, on the other hand, usually wouldn't have been so rude, but he needed to get to Axel as soon as possible. He stared out the window and watched the road pass by.

After a painstaking ten minutes, the car finally arrived at the hospital. As soon as the car rolled up to the front, Roxas jumped out—earning himself a shout from Zack who immediately followed. Roxas ran up to the receptionist and asked for Reno. The lady told him to wait a minute while she checked the files.

Roxas stood off to the side. Zack soon came through the sliding doors and looked around for Roxas. When he saw him, he jogged over and beside the blond boy.

"Jeez kid, what's all the rush?" Zack asked as he tried to regain his breath. Roxas shrugged and jumped slightly when his name was called. Roxas walked up to the receptionist and Zack followed behind, careful not to lose the boy again.

"Roxas Strife?" the lady asked.

"Yes?" Roxas answered for the second time that night.

"Reno is in room 801. Take the elevator to the second floor and it's down the hall, on the right," the lady said as she smiled and waved them off, continuing to yell the next person on lines' name.

Roxas went straight to the elevator and got on. Zack was surprisingly quiet till the elevator doors shut.

"Who's Reno? Is he your _boyfriend_? So, you're gay, like Leon? Not a surprise! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! Oh! I'm not making fun of you if that's what you think! I'm gay, too, by the way!" Zack rambled on once again. Roxas felt that he was with a Sora that had had way too much cotton candy.

"No," Roxas answered the second question about Reno being his boyfriend.

"No? You're not gay? Oh I'm sorry! I thought—"

Zack was cut off when the doors opened and Roxas walked down the hall. Zack ran ahead of him and found the door. Roxas nodded his head in thanks and knocked on it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get you your damn hard boiled eggs."

The door opened revealing the tall and lengthy red-headed Axel. His green eyes went wide when he saw Roxas about to knock. Suddenly, the eyes changed emotion and looked downward. He stepped away from the door and opened it wider, inviting them in. Roxas gave him a questioning look before walking in.

Reno sat on the bed and an empty plate of food sat next to him. His face immediately brightened when he caught sight or Roxas.

"Hey, Roxas! Thanks for coming to visit me. Axel rushed into the hospital all worried I was going to die. Ha! You can't get rid of me that easily!" Reno said proudly before a coughing fit overcame him.

"They think he has cancer," Axel stated as he stood next to Roxas. Zack stood off to the side and stared out the window.

"Exactly! They think! Axel. I'm a grown man. I can take care of myself. Thank you for visiting me Roxas, but I think you need to take Axel and leave," Reno said as he crossed his arms.

Axel looked like he wanted to say something but walked out the door, slamming it in his wake. Roxas was about to follow when he heard Reno speak up.

"Roxas, the doctors don't know what's wrong with me. They think that this is cancer but, then again, it might not be. I'm not sure how long I will last if it is, but I want you to be there for him. Okay?" Reno said as a tear slipped down his eye.

Roxas walked over and hugged the man before wishing him good luck and grabbing Zack's hair—pulling him out of his silent state. After they got outside, Roxas saw Axel leaning against the hospital building. Roxas ran up to him and hugged the now startled boy. Axel hugged him back till the two were rudely interrupted.

"So, you're not gay?" Zack asked.

"Who's that?" Axel asked Roxas as the two separated from their hug and walked to the patrol car still sitting in front of the building.

"The name's Zack Fair! I'm a friend of Leon's!" Zack said as he held his hand out to Axel.

"He's like another Sora!" Axel shouted. Roxas smiled as the happy-go-lucky Axel visibly returned.

The three got into the car and Zack drove them home.

"So let me get this straight. Reno is Axel's brother and he has cancer?" Zack said as he turned the car down their road.

"Yes, and I'm Roxy's boyfriend," Axel added. Zack's eyes went wide and he struggled to get a good look at the two in the backseat. More so Roxas than Axel.

"But, you said you weren't gay!"

"I said 'no' to Reno being my boyfriend," Roxas stated while Zack pouted the rest of the ride.

They pulled up to the front of Roxas' house and bade Zack goodnight. Axel and Roxas headed into the house and up the stairs, both not feeling up to eating any dinner. They went to Roxas' room and got in his bed.

Neither of them could fall asleep. Roxas felt Axel move slightly and knew that he was restless. He slowly sat up and looked into Axel's deep green eyes. He leaned down and softly kissed him.

"Don't worry. He's going to be just fine. At time like this, you just need to look up at the world and spend all the time you can with him."

"That was one big contradiction there, Roxy. First you tell me he's fine, and then you say to spend time with him. Roxas, I can't— I just don't know how I could live without him!" Axel practically yelled at a whisper.

"Well, I don't exactly know what to tell you, so I'm just saying everything I can think of."

Roxas hugged the older boy and the two lay back down. Roxas pet Axel's hair till he heard the boy fall asleep and soon succumbed to the beautiful darkness that had once been all he could see.

* * *

"Good morning boys!" Reno's loud voice greeted the couple as they walked into room 801.

Reno sat on his bed and his doctor was just finishing up taking his blood pressure.

"Reno, I want you to forget about everything I told you the other day, you got that?" the doctor said before adding. "And no more walking around the forest in the middle of the night."

"What was that all about?" Axel asked as he went up to his brother who was now getting his coat on. "And where do you think your going?"

"Turns out I had a tick sucking my back blood! It was just a major case of Lyme disease!" Reno said happily.

"You say that like it's a good thing," Axel mumbled before getting glomped by his brother.

"That's because it is! I'm not dying anymore!"

Roxas watched the two and relished Axel's smile as he looked at his older brother. Roxas didn't know how he would've helped Axel along with the pain and he was glad nothing had happened. Stupid ticks and purple manatees get us all the time.

* * *

Disclaimer: i own nothing

PSYCH! ha! i ain't gonna put tragedy in this! y'all just got an insight on who Reno is! and i felt like bringing Zack into the picture! i probably put Reno in it cause i just watched Advent Children with my friends and he was the comic relief!

This is the longest PM chapter yet! I have no clue when the next one will come out but that will be the last and final chapter! sad face!

Sorry for any mistakes!~ DreamingDaxern and I try our hardest, but even the best have their hard times!

For a while we had 69 reviews going and i laughed every time i looked! i got a dirty mind~

**Review to get to 100~ that's the goal! Review multiple times if you want! 100 is the winner!**


	10. Conclusion

The sound of a thump from upstairs resounded throughout the tiny house. Being a three bedroom, two bath, house the couple had bought for half-off, it was the perfect place for them. It's been two years since they graduated high school and were now finishing up their college classes. Axel looked up at the ceiling, wishing for once that he had X-ray vision so he could see what had happened. He decided to give up and simply yell for his second half.

"Roxy, are you okay?"

While he was waiting for an answer, he flipped another chocolate chip pancake and listened to the sizzle. His black sweat pants and bright pink apron were both covered in flour. Axel felt a wisp of cold air blow through the house and his loosely drawn ponytail tickled his bare back and he imagined himself with Roxas.

"Was that a moan I just heard?" Roxas asked as he walked into the kitchen, fully dressed. Axel felt his face flush and immediately denied all that he was being tried for.

"No! No, it was not! That was the sound of… the pancake sizzling!" Axel attempted to cover up by making various moaning noises while finishing up his baking.

"Okay, then," Roxas accepted the lie and sat down at the table. Axel turned off the stove and prepared two plates. Axel brought the plates over to Roxas and the two began to feast.

"So, what's on the agenda for today, birthday boy?" Axel asked. Roxas shrugged and stuffed his face with the chocolate food. "Well it's a good thing that I came up with a plan that will last us the whole day!"

Roxas gave Axel a skeptical look before inhaling the rest of his food and getting up for a drink of milk. He opened the fridge and got out a gallon of two percent milk and a plastic cup. As he was pouring the drink, he watched it begin to fall. The milk poured over one edge of the cup and spilled across the table.

"Woah, Roxy. Getting a little excited there?" Axel chuckled as he quickly got a roll of paper towels and began to clean up the mess. Roxas decided that he wasn't that thirsty and put the milk back in the fridge, slamming the door on it. "What's wrong, Rox?"

Roxas jumped as he felt two arms snake their way around his shoulders and pulled him flush against Axel's chest. Roxas let his eyes slide closed as Axel laid his chin on top of Roxas' head and breathed in his scent.

"Nothing…" Roxas replied after a bit and attempted to pull away from his boyfriend.

"Nope. That's a lie if I've ever seen one," Axel said as he smiled a bit into the struggling blonds' hair.

"You can't see lies. They are merely words recited in order to deceive someone," Roxas shot back.

"So, you're admitting to deceiving me?" Axel asked. Roxas suddenly got quiet and Axel knew that he had won. He spun the blond around and saw that there was a light pink blush on his cheeks and his eyes were downcast, avoiding his own at all costs.

"…I'm just… This is my first birthday without Leon, Cloud, and Sora… I just don't know—"

"Well about that…" Axel interrupted. Roxas' face immediately turned into a glare and his burning blue eyes were ice cold.

"About what, exactly?" he inquired the red head.

"We-are-planning-a-surprise-party-for-you-at-the-beach!" Axel yelled as fast as he could and quickly took off running up the stairs. Roxas stood where he was for a few seconds before it all made sense. Axel never cooked for him. Even on Christmas morning. He was trying to suck up to him.

"Axel!"

Roxas ran up the stairs, tripping up them on his way, but quickly regaining his composure and intensifying his anger. He slammed open their bedroom door and knew exactly where he was.

"Axel, get out from under the bed."

The bed moved slightly and a cat came out from underneath. It looked back towards the bed and hissed at it before walking away.

"Axel, Mickey doesn't hiss at anyone but you, the jigs up," Roxas crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the hardwood that he had landed on earlier when he had fallen out of bed.

The red head somehow crawled out from under the bed. The sight of a six foot tall man coming from a space of only a foot high was an incredibly grotesque scene and Roxas had to look away. When all was over, Axel stretched his back and held his hands up.

"Excuse me, officer, but don't you have to read me my Miranda rights?"

"Rights are for people who love their significant other and don't plan surprises for them when they know that they hate surprises!" Roxas scolded.

"But, Roxy~. You're going to love it! Please just give it a chance!" Axel begged as he got down on the ground and kissed Roxas' feet.

"Get off the ground," Roxas said as he looked at the boy in disgust but let a small smile break through. "So, does that mean I need swim trunks?"

"Umm, actually, you look fine now."

Roxas looked down at his clothing; a graphic band tee and tight blue jeans. He also sported his checkered bracelet and his keyblade necklace Axel had given him on his last birthday.

"For the beach?" Roxas asked, bewildered.

"Uh, yeah," Axel scratched his head and refused to look the blond in the eyes. His cheeks with slightly pink and his hair looked even more red. "Actually, do you mind putting on this blindfold?" Axel held out the blindfold.

"Wow, Axel. Starting to get a bit kinky now? You know I used to be blind right?" Roxas asked as he reached for the blindfold and began to put it on. Poor, gullible Roxas.

**xXx**

"Axel, where are we?" Roxas asked as he reached up to pull off the blindfold for the hundredth time. Axel reached over and held Roxas' hand away once more.

"We are on our way to the beach," Axel clarified once again.

"Then why is it taking us hours to get there?"

"Because I'm taking the long way."

"Bullshit. There's only one road to get there and it only takes a half an hour."

"Ummm…"

"Nice excuse."

"Shut up or I'm not feeding you anymore!"

Roxas none too reluctantly shut his trap. He huffed with irritation and crossed him arms. They had been driving for around 3 hours. Roxas couldn't really tell. Axel had yet to explain anything and Roxas was getting annoyed. Then, Axel started to hum a song. Not any song. The song. The duck song.

"Axel, shut up," Roxas commanded. His fists closing in on themselves, getting ready for the punch.

"Why? You love this song! ~Then he waddled away~."

"Axel you have three seconds to stop."

"~A duck—"

"One."

"~Walked up—"

Roxas' fist collided with Axel's arm. Roxas felt the car swerve then quickly regain its fluid motion. Axel's breath was erratic but you could hear a slight laugh come from his mouth.

"You didn't even give me three seconds! I almost ran into that huge semi!"

"Well maybe you should listen to me," the blond suggested.

"Well you know what, you party pooper! We're here."

"Really?" Roxas asked in anticipation. He would never admit that he was excited to find out where the hell he was being taken.

"No," Axel deadpanned. Roxas raised his fist before Axel cut him off frantically. "I was kidding! I was kidding! Jesus! Don't kill me over a little joke."

Roxas felt the car pull to stop and when the car was put in park, Roxas quickly unlocked the door and jumped out.

"Ha! Now I can take off the blind—"

"Don't take it off yet!"

A pair of hands stopped Roxas' and the blindfold stayed on. Roxas stood there with the other boy's hands over his eyes in case something came loose and seeing the surprise was possible.

"But, Axel…" Roxas whined.

"We're almost there. You just need to walk a bit! And look what I found!"

Roxas felt an object being pushed into his hand. It was his blunt trauma weapon. Roxas hadn't touched the thing since he regained his eyesight. Why was he being forced to remember things?

"Axel… I don't want the cane… it's too much…"

"Roxas… I'm not trying to make you remember He-who-should-not-be-named, I'm trying to make you remember how we got together. How we became a couple in the first place. How we became closer and how we are together still."

"Oh." Was all Roxas could say. He gripped the cane in his hand and unfolded it. He quickly began to sweep the area and look for anything in his way. Roxas jumped when he felt Axel's hand on his back, but once the warmth radiated off of the hand, he knew he was safe.

"It's okay, Rox. I'm right here," Axel whispered into Roxas' ear. A blush spread across the tiny blonds' face and he smiled.

The couple made it to their destination with only a few trips and close calls. Roxas knew that he had been brought inside a building and that he was now walking up the stairs. Axel gripped to his hand with the other set on the small of his back. When they got to the top of the stairs, Roxas heard the sound of the ocean. He squeezed his lover's hand and Axel squeezed back. Axel helped Roxas onto a chair and kept their hands entwined.

"We're here," Axel's voice nothing above a whisper.

Roxas ripped off the blindfold and was frozen in place. Axel and he were seated on a balcony overlooking the vast ocean. The sun was setting straight ahead of them. The sky was a perfect mix of vermillion and purple. A table was sat in front of them with all sorts of ocean cuisine displayed in a fancy manner.

"Happy birthday."

Roxas could only reply by throwing himself into the redhead's arms. A soft "thank you" was whispered and the two shared a kiss. They began to eat their food when something dawned on Roxas.

"So you were lying about Sora and the other's coming for a surprise party?"

Axel was in the middle of chewing his food when he suddenly sucked in and started choking. Roxas's eyebrow went up at the reaction but still helped the choking boy by soothingly rubbing his back. When Axel began to breathe normally again, he dabbed the side of his mouth and avoided eye contact with the curious birthday boy.

"…No, they're in the room next to us right now."

"What!" Roxas screeched. He noticed a pair of doors and ripped them open. Sora, Riku, Leon, and Cloud were all found standing next to the doors. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to support you in every way possible," Sora said in a robotic tone—obviously rehearsed. Roxas heard Axel facepalm behind him and turned around to question the boy, but found that he wasn't there.

"Axel?"

"Over here, babe," Axel's voice returned.

Roxas walked towards the voice and found that he was leaning over the balcony, staring at the sunset. The wind was billowing over the handrails and Axel's hair flowed in the wind. Roxas walked up beside him and leaned against the railing with him. The two stood there watching the sunrise till the very tip of the yellowing object was left visible.

"Roxas?"

Roxas immediately looked to his name being called. He saw Axel next to him. His one knee was on the ground and a look of total seriousness was displayed on his face. He quickly cleared his throat, and looked into the blonds' bright blue eyes. The blush on his face grew stronger when Roxas eyed the arm behind his back.

"Roxas." Axel brought his hand—holding a small black box—out from behind his back. "I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you. And after withstanding all my pranks and idiot jokes, you still stayed by my side. For this, I wish for you to stay by my side, forever."

Axel opened the black box and revealed a delicate silver band. He took it out of its encasing and held out his hand for his lover's own. Roxas could only stare at the redhead. He didn't even feel the tears till he tasted one on his lips. He jumped at the saltiness and slowly reached out his hand. His smile grew as the ring was pushed up his finger and lay there. Axel got up and hugged his crying fiancé. Roxas wound his arms around the redhead and nodded his head over and over again.

"Nice going, Rox! I thought I was the older twin!"

Sora's voice interrupted the beautiful moment and Roxas quickly whipped his tears and a frown set itself on his face. He glared at the other boy and let a tiny smile out.

"Nope, I've always been the older one. You just never knew it."

"Oh really? Well what about—"

"No arguing boys," Cloud stepped in and pushed Sora out of the way—who stumbled into Riku's arms. "Congratulations, you two."

Roxas instantly blushed and hid his face in Axel's shirt. He wrapped his arms around the redhead and played with the ring that was on his finger. A tap on the shoulder told Roxas to look up. A kiss was placed on his lips and then he was turned around.

Before him was a cake. Sora was holding it and everyone was gathered around. Roxas' mouth dropped when he saw what was on the cake and he instantly faceplamed.

Purple manatees.

"Why? Why would you put those weird creatures on my birthday cake?" Roxas asked through gritted teeth.

"Because they're so freaking cute!" Sora answered as Leon quickly took the cake away from the bouncy brunette before he dropped. He immediately began to cut off pieces for people. After all the pieces were passed out and Roxas ended up getting the head of one of the creatures, they all sang Roxas happy birthday and ate their cake.

"Sora, how did you even get the picture of the manatees on the cake? They were in the science textbook from school, which we handed in at the end of the year." Roxas questioned. He finished his food and set the plate on the table in front of him.

"Um, I kinda kept the textbook," Sora said. He nervously itched the back of his head and began to collect the plates.

"You kept it?" Roxas asked, bewildered.

"I forgot, okay?" Sora laughed as he walked out of the room with a pile of plates.

Roxas chuckled and looked around for his new fiancé. When he could not be found, he figured that he must be on the balcony again. Roxas walked onto the balcony and the redhead was not there. A sudden thought occurred to Roxas as he quickly whipped around and ran back inside. One, two, three people were missing. And those people were none other than The Retarded Threesome. He looked at Cloud, who in turn looked back at him. Mischievousness played across the older man's eyes and Roxas cowered away a bit, in fear of the torture he might be put through. Cloud's eyes flicked over to the doors the group had been hiding behind before and Roxas made his way over there.

One minute Roxas was walking, the next—he found himself lying on the ground. Having hit an invisible force on his way through the doors, Roxas bounced back onto the ground. Roars of laughter surrounded the grounded blond and a deep red blush formed. He stood up and went over to the door.

Plastic wrap.

They had covered plastic wrap across the doorway. A college joke played on a college kid. Their pranks were getting more sophisticated. Roxas laughed to himself at the last thought and instantly crossed it out. Riku, Sora, and Axel came into view on the other side of the doorway. Each clutching their stomachs with insane laughter. They were still as childish as they had been since Roxas had met them. Only, things were just a tiny bit different.

Axel held his hand to the plastic wrap, the silver band he had put on now showing through the clear sheet. Roxas brought his hand up to meet the redhead and they were together.

A previously blind boy, finding love right in front of his eyes— only without the use of them.

In the background, a lone piece of purple manatee tail left on the cake lay in waiting for someone to eat it.

* * *

_**The End **_

Can you believe it's finally over? Sorry for taking so long to get this sequel chapter out, but it's finally finished.

I own nothing so just remember that! XD

Now on to the **Thank yous.**

First, I would like to thank my beloved friends, **Kiri and Daxern**. Without them, I have no clue how far i could've gotten with this, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be that far!

Next, on to the **Reviewers.**

_MidnightSchemer13_, _candy3314, Normajean Beausoleil, Easterbasket, DarkAkatsukiNeko, deatheagle202, __At Night We Rise, Kit-KatSoraTwix193, baileymermaid95_, _., Gxmwp, LifesLover, Blood as soft as silk_, Simply Cryptic, _TheChemistOfAmestris, Dreaming Daxern, Gillness82, TeukieWookie, FalseTruthsCore, x-iFiNiTy, xxZexionVI, DooomWolf, Flightfoot, darkwolflink1, Mesrine, Joe, Jayshock, Hawkgirl90, roxy mccartney, MissingAche, Tomo7, moonray9, UnderMySkittlez1819, and allison kingsley_

I apologize if I wrote anyone's name wrong and I thank those who stuck with this till the very end (you know who you are and I have recognized you in my heart).

I hope all the ones who have read this story will continue on to my other stories and read those ones as well.

_**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!**_

_**HAVE A GOOD LIFE~**_


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